Which to use
“lait” and “lin” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,043
- “lait” frequency rank
- #8,118
- “lin” frequency rank
- 10161
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lait | lin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Liquide produit par les glandes mammaires des femelles de mammifères pendant la période de lactation qui suit la parturition, et destiné à nourrir les bébés lors de l’allaitement. | Plante herbacée de la famille des Linacées, à feuilles simples, à fleurs généralement bleues, cultivée dans les pays tempérés pour ses graines oléagineuses et pour la fibre textile que fournit sa tige. |
Where the eye mixes lait and lin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lait with lin
A purely visual mix-up. lait (\lɛ\) and lin (\lɛ̃\) 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 10161, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lait is recorded at frequency rank #2,043, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛ\. lin is at rank #8,118, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛ̃\.
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 10161, this pair ranks #414,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lait vs lin
Shared letters: il. Private to "lait": at. Private to "lin": n.
"lait" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lin" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lait ← alit · laitt · lati · liat · llait
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lait" and "lin" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "lait" or "lin" 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 "lait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #414,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lait" and "lin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lep vs lin". 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 #414,009 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.