laisse vs laits, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“laisse” and “laits” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#555
“laisse” frequency rank: #36,466
“laits” frequency rank: 37021
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	laisse	laits
Definition	Corde ou lanière dont on se sert pour mener un chien seul ou des chiens attachés ensemble.	Pluriel de lait.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laisse and laits apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

laisse

5 ch

laits

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laisse (\lɛs\) and laits (\lɛ\) 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 37021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laisse is recorded at frequency rank #555, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛs\. laits is at rank #36,466, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛ\.

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 37021, this pair ranks #265,437 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laisse vs laits

Shared letters: ails. Private to "laisse": e. Private to "laits": t.

"laisse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "laits" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

laisse ← alisse · laise · laises · lasise · llaisse
laits ← alits · laist · laitss · laitts · latis · liats · llaits

Frequency comparison

laisse#555

laits#36,466

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laisse" and "laits" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\lɛs\ versus \lɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "laisse" or "laits"?

"laisse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #555 in our French list, against #36,466 for "laits". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering laisse vs laits

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laisse” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable