lacunevslamineWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,685
“lacune” frequency rank
#31,112
“lamine” frequency rank
61797
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lacune lamine
Definition Espace vide, solution de continuité dans un corps ou dans une série. Type de filaments intermédiaires assurant la structure du noyau de la cellule.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
lacune
6 ch
lamine

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lacune (\la.kyn\) and lamine (\la.min\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lacune is recorded at frequency rank #30,685, classified as anoun, pronounced \la.kyn\. lamine is at rank #31,112, tagged as anoun, pronounced \la.min\.

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 61797, this pair ranks #90,381 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lacune vs lamine

Shared letters: aeln. Private to "lacune": cu. Private to "lamine": im.

"lacune" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "lamine" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lacunealcune · laccune · lacnue · lacuen · lacunne · laucne · lcaune · llacune
  • laminealmine · laimne · lamien · laminne · lammine · lamnie · llamine · lmaine

Frequency comparison

lacune#30,685
lamine#31,112

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lacune" and "lamine" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\la.kyn\ versus \la.min\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lacune" or "lamine"?
"lacune" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,685 in our French list, against #31,112 for "lamine". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lacune vs lamine

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 “lacune” 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