Which to use
“laïque” is an adjective and “laitue” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,865
- “laïque” frequency rank
- #32,462
- “laitue” frequency rank
- 42327
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laïque | laitue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de laïc. | Nom usuel donné à la plupart des plantes du genre Lactuca, de la famille des Asteraceae (Astéracées), produisant du latex, et dont certaines espèces sont cultivées comme plantes potagères. |
Where the eye mixes laïque and laitue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. laïque (CVCCVV) and laitue (CVVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses laïque with laitue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laïque is \la.ik\ while laitue is \lɛ.ty\. 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 42327, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laïque is recorded at frequency rank #9,865, classified as anadj, pronounced \la.ik\. laitue is at rank #32,462, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛ.ty\.
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 42327, this pair ranks #226,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laïque vs laitue
Shared letters: aelu. Private to "laïque": qï. Private to "laitue": it.
"laïque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "laitue" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- laitue ← alitue · laiteu · laittue · laiute · latiue · liatue · llaitue
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "laïque" and "laitue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "laïque" vs "laitue" - which ranks higher?
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 "laïque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laitue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #226,447 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laïque" and "laitue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lafitte vs laitue". 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 #226,447 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.