Which to use
“laines” and “larves” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,376
- “laines” frequency rank
- #15,926
- “larves” frequency rank
- 57302
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laines | larves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de laine. | Pluriel de larve. |
Where the eye mixes laines and larves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: laines vs larves
A purely visual mix-up. laines (\lɛn\) and larves (\laʁv\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laines is recorded at frequency rank #41,376, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛn\. larves is at rank #15,926, tagged as anoun, pronounced \laʁv\.
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 57302, this pair ranks #115,881 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laines vs larves
Shared letters: aels. Private to "laines": in. Private to "larves": rv.
"laines" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "larves" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laines" for "larves" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "laines" or "larves" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laines" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "larves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #115,881 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laines" and "larves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laines vs linges". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #115,881 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.