Which to use
“la” is an article and “lus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2
- “la” frequency rank
- #12,613
- “lus” frequency rank
- 12615
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | la | lus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de le. Détermine un groupe nominal féminin singulier. | Masculin pluriel de lu. |
Where the eye mixes la and lus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: la vs lus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: la is \la\ while lus is \ly\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (article vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12615, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
la is recorded at frequency rank #2, classified as anarticle, pronounced \la\. lus is at rank #12,613, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ly\.
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 12615, this pair ranks #404,513 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of la vs lus
Shared letters: l. Private to "la": a. Private to "lus": su.
"la" · 2 letters · shape CV · "lus" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "la" for "lus" ever safe?
Frequency check: "la" vs "lus" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "la" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #404,513 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "la" and "lus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lep vs lus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #404,513 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.