laisservslasséeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#583
“laisser” frequency rank
#44,542
“lassée” frequency rank
45125
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laisser lassée
Definition Quitter quelqu’un ou quelque chose. Participe passé féminin singulier de lasser.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
laisser
6 ch
lassée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laisser (\le.se\) and lassée (\la.se\) 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 45125, 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\. lassée is at rank #44,542, tagged as averb, pronounced \la.se\.

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 45125, this pair ranks #205,208 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laisser vs lassée

Shared letters: aels. Private to "laisser": ir. Private to "lassée": é.

"laisser" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "lassée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laisseralisser · laiser · laisesr · laisserr · laissre · lasiser · liasser · llaisser

Frequency comparison

laisser#583
lassée#44,542

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laisser" and "lassée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\le.se\ versus \la.se\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laisser" or "lassée"?
"laisser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #583 in our French list, against #44,542 for "lassée". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering laisser vs lassée

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 “laisser” 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