lâchévslâchezWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lâché is a adjective, lâchez is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lâché” is an adjective and “lâchez” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,973
“lâché” frequency rank
#19,063
“lâchez” frequency rank
26036
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lâché lâchez
Definition Quelque chose qui est négligé, qui manque de précision, de vigueur. Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de lâcher.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lâché and lâchez apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lâché
6 ch
lâchez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: lâché and lâchez carry the same recorded pronunciation, \la.ʃe\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lâché is recorded at frequency rank #6,973, classified as anadj, pronounced \la.ʃe\. lâchez is at rank #19,063, tagged as averb, pronounced \la.ʃe\.

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 26036, this pair ranks #337,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lâché vs lâchez

Shared letters: chlâ. Private to "lâché": é. Private to "lâchez": ez.

"lâché" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lâchez" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequency comparison

lâché#6,973
lâchez#19,063

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lâché" and "lâchez" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lâché" is an adjective and "lâchez" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lâché" or "lâchez"?
"lâché" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,973 in our French list, against #19,063 for "lâchez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lâché vs lâchez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “lâché”; for a verb, it's “lâchez”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lâché” 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