Which to use
“laits” and “lips” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,466
- “laits” frequency rank
- #46,867
- “lips” frequency rank
- 83333
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laits | lips |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de lait. | Pluriel de lip. |
Where the eye mixes laits and lips
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between laits and lips
A purely visual mix-up. laits (\lɛ\) and lips (\ˈlɪps\) 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 83333, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laits is recorded at frequency rank #36,466, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛ\. lips is at rank #46,867, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈlɪps\.
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 83333, this pair ranks #15,034 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of laits vs lips
Shared letters: ils. Private to "laits": at. Private to "lips": p.
"laits" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "lips" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laits" for "lips" ever safe?
Which is more common, "laits" or "lips"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laits" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lips" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,034 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laits" and "lips" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lep vs lips". 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 #15,034 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.