Which to use
“laisser” is a verb and “laitier” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #583
- “laisser” frequency rank
- #26,077
- “laitier” frequency rank
- 26660
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laisser | laitier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Quitter quelqu’un ou quelque chose. | Relatif au lait. |
Where the eye mixes laisser and laitier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. laisser (CVVCCVC) and laitier (CVVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses laisser with laitier
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laisser is \le.se\ while laitier is \lɛ.tje\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laisser is recorded at frequency rank #583, classified as averb, pronounced \le.se\. laitier is at rank #26,077, tagged as anadj, pronounced \lɛ.tje\.
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 26660, this pair ranks #333,604 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of laisser vs laitier
Shared letters: aeilr. Private to "laisser": s. Private to "laitier": t.
"laisser" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "laitier" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laisser" and "laitier" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "laisser" or "laitier" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laisser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laitier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #333,604 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laisser" and "laitier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laitier vs later". 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 #333,604 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.