laïcs vs laïque, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“laïcs” is a noun and “laïque” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,054
“laïcs” frequency rank: #9,865
“laïque” frequency rank: 28919
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	laïcs	laïque
Definition	Pluriel de laïc.	Variante de laïc.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

laïcs

6 ch

laïque

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: laïcs and laïque carry the same recorded pronunciation, \la.ik\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28919, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laïcs is recorded at frequency rank #19,054, classified as anoun, 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 28919, this pair ranks #319,824 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laïcs vs laïque

Shared letters: alï. Private to "laïcs": cs. Private to "laïque": equ.

"laïcs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "laïque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

laïcs#19,054

laïque#9,865

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laïcs" and "laïque" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laïcs" is a noun and "laïque" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "laïcs" or "laïque"?

"laïque" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,865 in our French list, against #19,054 for "laïcs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laïcs vs laïque

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “laïcs”; for an adjective, it's “laïque”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laïcs” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable