laidevslaitsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: laide is a adjective, laits is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#18,520
“laide” frequency rank
#36,466
“laits” frequency rank
54986
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laide laits
Definition Féminin singulier de laid. Pluriel de lait.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
laide
5 ch
laits

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laide is \lɛd\ while laits is \lɛ\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laide is recorded at frequency rank #18,520, classified as anadj, pronounced \lɛd\. laits is at rank #36,466, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛ\.

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 54986, this pair ranks #130,367 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laide vs laits

Shared letters: ail. Private to "laide": de. Private to "laits": st.

"laide" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "laits" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laidealide · ladie · laidde · laied · liade · llaide
  • laitsalits · laist · laitss · laitts · latis · liats · llaits

Frequency comparison

laide#18,520
laits#36,466

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laide" and "laits" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laide" is an adjective and "laits" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "laide" or "laits"?
"laide" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,520 in our French list, against #36,466 for "laits". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laide vs laits

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “laide”; for a noun, it's “laits”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laide” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list