labovsloboWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“labo” and “lobo” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,609
“labo” frequency rank
#49,770
“lobo” frequency rank
62379
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature labo lobo
Definition Laboratoire. Loup.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set labo and lobo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
labo
4 ch
lobo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. labo (\la.bo\) and lobo (\ˈlo.bo\) 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 a single letter - a in “labo” becomes o in “lobo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62379, 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\. lobo is at rank #49,770, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈlo.bo\.

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 62379, this pair ranks #87,437 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of labo vs lobo

Shared letters: blo. Private to "labo": a. Private to "lobo": -.

"labo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lobo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laboalbo · labbo · laob · lbao · llabo
  • lobolboo · llobo · lobbo · loob · olbo

Frequency comparison

labo#12,609
lobo#49,770

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "labo" and "lobo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\la.bo\ versus \ˈlo.bo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "labo" or "lobo"?
"labo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,609 in our French list, against #49,770 for "lobo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering labo vs lobo

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 “labo” 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