Which to use
“lai” is an adjective and “loi” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,335
- “lai” frequency rank
- #300
- “loi” frequency rank
- 19635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lai | loi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Laïc, convers. | Règle, obligations écrites, prescrites ou tacites, auxquelles les personnes se doivent de se conformer. |
Where the eye mixes lai and loi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lai vs loi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lai is \lɛ\ while loi is \lwa\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “lai” becomes o in “loi”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lai is recorded at frequency rank #19,335, classified as anadj, pronounced \lɛ\. loi is at rank #300, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lwa\.
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 19635, this pair ranks #372,307 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lai vs loi
Shared letters: il. Private to "lai": a. Private to "loi": o.
"lai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "loi" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lai" and "loi" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "lai" or "loi"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #372,307 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lai" and "loi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lai vs lep". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #372,307 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.