Which to use
“lâchez” and “lavez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,063
- “lâchez” frequency rank
- #31,117
- “lavez” frequency rank
- 50180
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lâchez | lavez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de lâcher. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de laver. |
Where the eye mixes lâchez and lavez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lâchez runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against lavez's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lâchez with lavez
A purely visual mix-up. lâchez (\la.ʃe\) and lavez (\la.ve\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50180, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lâchez is recorded at frequency rank #19,063, classified as averb, pronounced \la.ʃe\. lavez is at rank #31,117, tagged as averb, pronounced \la.ve\.
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 50180, this pair ranks #164,658 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lâchez vs lavez
Shared letters: elz. Private to "lâchez": châ. Private to "lavez": av.
"lâchez" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lavez" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lavez ← alvez · laevz · lavezz · lavvez · lavze · llavez · lvaez
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lâchez" and "lavez" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "lâchez" or "lavez" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lâchez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lavez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #164,658 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lâchez" and "lavez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lavez vs lirez". 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 #164,658 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.