Which to use
“lace” is a verb and “lacet” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,860
- “lace” frequency rank
- #29,015
- “lacet” frequency rank
- 70875
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lace | lacet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de lacer. | Nœud coulant avec lequel on prend les perdrix, les lièvres, etc. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lace and lacet apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lace is \las\ while lacet is \la.sɛ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “lace” sits inside “lacet”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70875, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lace is recorded at frequency rank #41,860, classified as averb, pronounced \las\. lacet is at rank #29,015, tagged as anoun, pronounced \la.sɛ\.
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 70875, this pair ranks #49,648 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lace vs lacet
Shared letters: acel. Private to "lace": -. Private to "lacet": t.
"lace" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lacet" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lace" and "lacet" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lace" or "lacet"?
Remembering lace vs lacet
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lace”; for a noun, it's “lacet”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lace” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable