lait
\lɛ\
The verdict
“lait” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,043 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,043
- frequency rank, French
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Liquide produit par les glandes mammaires des femelles de mammifères pendant la période de lactation qui suit la parturition, et destiné à nourrir les bébés lors de l’allaitement.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lait |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \lɛ\ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #2,043 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lait” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for lait is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \lɛ\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,043 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for lait, with forms such as "alit", "laitt", and "lati". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Li", "LT", "lui", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is lait, spelled L-A-I-T.
Definition
- 1Liquide produit par les glandes mammaires des femelles de mammifères pendant la période de lactation qui suit la parturition, et destiné à nourrir les bébés lors de l’allaitement.
- 2Toute boisson importante pour une personne.
- 3Liquide de couleur blanche présentant des caractéristiques semblables au lait de vache, ou dont la consistance ou la couleur rappelle celle du lait.
- 4Crème utilisée pour les soins de la peau, en particulier du visage.
- 5Glaire des œufs frais, quand ils sont cuits à point pour être mangés à la coque.
- 6Suc blanchâtre, comme le latex et l’albumen, qui sort de quelques plantes et de quelques fruits.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: alit,laitt,lati,liat,llait
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lait - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "lait"?
What does "lait" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “lait”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is L-A-I-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \lɛ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Li” - see the side-by-side comparison. lait vs Li
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.