lagovslangWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lago is a adverb, lang is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lago” is an adverb and “lang” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,759
“lago” frequency rank
#12,408
“lang” frequency rank
62167
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lago lang
Definition Là. Long, longue, de grande taille, (dimension spatiale).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lago and lang apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lago
4 ch
lang

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lago is \la.ɡo\ while lang is \laŋ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lago is recorded at frequency rank #49,759, classified as anadv, pronounced \la.ɡo\. lang is at rank #12,408, tagged as anadj, pronounced \laŋ\.

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 62167, this pair ranks #88,516 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lago vs lang

Shared letters: agl. Private to "lago": o. Private to "lang": n.

"lago" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lang" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lagoalgo · laggo · laog · lgao · llago
  • langalng · lagn · langg · lanng · llang · lnag

Frequency comparison

lago#49,759
lang#12,408

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lago" and "lang" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lago" is an adverb and "lang" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lago" or "lang"?
"lang" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,408 in our French list, against #49,759 for "lago". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lago vs lang

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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