lacvsleadWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“lac” and “lead” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#48,497
“lac” frequency rank
#39,314
“lead” frequency rank
87811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lac lead
Definition Lago. Plomo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lac and lead apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
lac
4 ch
lead

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lac ([lak]) and lead (/lɛd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lac is recorded at frequency rank #48,497, classified as anoun, pronounced [lak]. lead is at rank #39,314, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɛd/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 87811, this pair ranks #4,221 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lac vs lead

Shared letters: al. Private to "lac": c. Private to "lead": de.

"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "lead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leadelad · laed · leadd · leda · llead

Frequency comparison

lac#48,497
lead#39,314

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lac" and "lead" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lak] versus /lɛd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lac" or "lead"?
"lead" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,314 in our Spanish list, against #48,497 for "lac". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lac vs lead

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lac” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list