Which to use
“laissa” and “laissez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,497
- “laissa” frequency rank
- #2,319
- “laissez” frequency rank
- 16816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laissa | laissez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de laisser. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de laisser. |
Where the eye mixes laissa and laissez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. laissa runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against laissez's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: laissa vs laissez
A purely visual mix-up. laissa (\lɛ.sa\) and laissez (\lɛ.se\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laissa is recorded at frequency rank #14,497, classified as averb, pronounced \lɛ.sa\. laissez is at rank #2,319, tagged as averb, pronounced \lɛ.se\.
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 16816, this pair ranks #386,122 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of laissa vs laissez
Shared letters: ails. Private to "laissa": -. Private to "laissez": ez.
"laissa" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "laissez" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laissa" for "laissez" ever safe?
Frequency check: "laissa" vs "laissez" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "laissa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laissez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #386,122 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laissa" and "laissez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laissa vs Larissa". 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 #386,122 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.