lacvslisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,497
“lac” frequency rank
#20,413
“lis” frequency rank
68910
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lac lis
Definition Lago. (Iris) Planta de la familia de las irídeas, formada por tallos que miden generalmente entre cinco y seis decímetros de largo, con hojas ensiformes que tienen cerca de la mitad de esa longitud, y que terminan en flores de gran tamaño, con seis pétalos de vivos colores, generalmente morado, azul o blanco.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lac and lis apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
lac
3 ch
lis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lac ([lak]) and lis ([ˈlis]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68910, 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]. lis is at rank #20,413, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlis].

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 68910, this pair ranks #33,336 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lac vs lis

Shared letters: l. Private to "lac": ac. Private to "lis": is.

"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

lac#48,497
lis#20,413

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lac" and "lis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lak] versus [ˈlis]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lac" or "lis"?
"lis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,413 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 lis

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