laissevslassoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#555
“laisse” frequency rank
#46,263
“lasso” frequency rank
46818
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laisse lasso
Definition Corde ou lanière dont on se sert pour mener un chien seul ou des chiens attachés ensemble. Longue lanière en forme de boucle dont se servent les gardiens de troupeaux, comme les cow-boys ou les gardians, pour s’emparer des chevaux, des bœufs sauvages, en la leur lançant autour du corps.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
laisse
5 ch
lasso

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laisse (\lɛs\) and lasso (\la.so\) 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 46818, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laisse is recorded at frequency rank #555, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛs\. lasso is at rank #46,263, tagged as anoun, pronounced \la.so\.

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 46818, this pair ranks #191,835 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laisse vs lasso

Shared letters: als. Private to "laisse": ei. Private to "lasso": o.

"laisse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "lasso" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laissealisse · laise · laises · lasise · llaisse
  • lassolasos · llasso · lsaso

Frequency comparison

laisse#555
lasso#46,263

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laisse" and "lasso" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lɛs\ versus \la.so\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laisse" or "lasso"?
"laisse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #555 in our French list, against #46,263 for "lasso". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering laisse vs lasso

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list