laissevsliesseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#555
“laisse” frequency rank
#31,121
“liesse” frequency rank
31676
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laisse liesse
Definition Corde ou lanière dont on se sert pour mener un chien seul ou des chiens attachés ensemble. Joie débordante et collective.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laisse and liesse apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
laisse
6 ch
liesse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laisse (\lɛs\) and liesse (\ljɛs\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laisse is recorded at frequency rank #555, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛs\. liesse is at rank #31,121, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ljɛs\.

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 31676, this pair ranks #302,298 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laisse vs liesse

Shared letters: eils. Private to "laisse": a. Private to "liesse": -.

"laisse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "liesse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laissealisse · laise · laises · lasise · llaisse
  • liesseilesse · leisse · liese · lieses · lisese · lliesse

Frequency comparison

laisse#555
liesse#31,121

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laisse" and "liesse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lɛs\ versus \ljɛs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laisse" or "liesse"?
"laisse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #555 in our French list, against #31,121 for "liesse". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering laisse vs liesse

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