Which to use
“labo” and “lait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,609
- “labo” frequency rank
- #2,043
- “lait” frequency rank
- 14652
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | labo | lait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Laboratoire. | 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. |
Where the eye mixes labo and lait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. labo (CVCV) and lait (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between labo and lait
A purely visual mix-up. labo (\la.bo\) and lait (\lɛ\) 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 14652, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
labo is recorded at frequency rank #12,609, classified as anoun, pronounced \la.bo\. lait is at rank #2,043, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛ\.
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 14652, this pair ranks #395,774 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of labo vs lait
Shared letters: al. Private to "labo": bo. Private to "lait": it.
"labo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lait" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "labo" and "lait" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "labo" vs "lait" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "labo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,774 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "labo" and "lait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "labo vs lobo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #395,774 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.