Which to use
“laïque” is an adjective and “lexique” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,865
- “laïque” frequency rank
- #16,931
- “lexique” frequency rank
- 26796
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laïque | lexique |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante de laïc. | Dictionnaire des locutions et formes propres à certains auteurs. |
Where the eye mixes laïque and lexique
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. laïque runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against lexique's 7 (CVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between laïque and lexique
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laïque is \la.ik\ while lexique is \lɛk.sik\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26796, 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\. lexique is at rank #16,931, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛk.sik\.
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 26796, this pair ranks #332,815 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of laïque vs lexique
Shared letters: elqu. Private to "laïque": aï. Private to "lexique": ix.
"laïque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "lexique" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lexique ← elxique · leixque · lexiqeu · lexiqque · lexiuqe · lexqiue · lexxique · llexique
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laïque" for "lexique" ever safe?
Which is more common, "laïque" or "lexique"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "laïque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lexique" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #332,815 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laïque" and "lexique" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laïque vs Laroque". 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 #332,815 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.