Which to use
“laïc” and “laïque” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,892
- “laïc” frequency rank
- #9,865
- “laïque” frequency rank
- 29757
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laïc | laïque |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qualifie le caractère des personnes ou des choses ne faisant pas partie d’une institution religieuse. | Variante de laïc. |
Same sound, different letters: laïc vs laïque
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters. laïc runs 4 letters (CVCC) against laïque's 6 (CVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - laïc and laïque
This is the hard kind. laïc and laïque are pronounced identically (\la.ik\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laïc is recorded at frequency rank #19,892, classified as anadj, pronounced \la.ik\. laïque is at rank #9,865, tagged as anadj, pronounced \la.ik\.
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 29757, this pair ranks #314,688 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laïc vs laïque
Shared letters: alï. Private to "laïc": c. Private to "laïque": equ.
"laïc" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "laïque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "laïc" and "laïque" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "laïc" vs "laïque" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
"laïc" and "laïque" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "laïc" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laïque" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #314,688 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laïc" and "laïque" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lago vs laïc". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #314,688 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.