Which to use
“lac” is a noun and “lâcha” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,775
- “lac” frequency rank
- #44,554
- “lâcha” frequency rank
- 46329
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lac | lâcha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grande étendue d’eau complètement entourée de terres, généralement d’eau douce. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de lâcher. |
Where the eye mixes lac and lâcha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lac with lâcha
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lac is \lak\ while lâcha is \la.ʃa\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46329, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lac is recorded at frequency rank #1,775, classified as anoun, pronounced \lak\. lâcha is at rank #44,554, tagged as averb, pronounced \la.ʃa\.
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 46329, this pair ranks #195,828 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lac vs lâcha
Shared letters: acl. Private to "lac": -. Private to "lâcha": hâ.
"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lâcha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lac" for "lâcha" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "lac" or "lâcha" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lâcha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #195,828 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lac" and "lâcha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lâcha vs Lech". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #195,828 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.