Which to use
“laissais” and “lisais” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,242
- “laissais” frequency rank
- #15,930
- “lisais” frequency rank
- 46172
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laissais | lisais |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de laisser. | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de lire. |
Where the eye mixes laissais and lisais
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. laissais runs 8 letters (CVVCCVVC) against lisais's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses laissais with lisais
A purely visual mix-up. laissais (\lɛ.sɛ\) and lisais (\li.zɛ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46172, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laissais is recorded at frequency rank #30,242, classified as averb, pronounced \lɛ.sɛ\. lisais is at rank #15,930, tagged as averb, pronounced \li.zɛ\.
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 46172, this pair ranks #197,030 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laissais vs lisais
Shared letters: ails. Private to "laissais": -. Private to "lisais": -.
"laissais" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVC · "lisais" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laissais" and "lisais" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "laissais" or "lisais"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "laissais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lisais" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #197,030 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laissais" and "lisais" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liait vs lisais". 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 #197,030 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.