lambvslansWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,367
“lamb” frequency rank
#35,119
“lans” frequency rank
74486
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lamb lans
Definition Agneau. Écart intempestif que fait un navire à droite ou à gauche de sa route ou rotation sur son mouillage.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lamb and lans apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lamb
4 ch
lans

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lamb (\ˈlæm\) and lans (\lɑ̃\) 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 74486, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lamb is recorded at frequency rank #39,367, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈlæm\. lans is at rank #35,119, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃\.

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 74486, this pair ranks #37,017 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lamb vs lans

Shared letters: al. Private to "lamb": bm. Private to "lans": ns.

"lamb" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lambalmb · labm · lambb · lammb · llamb · lmab
  • lansalns · lanns · lanss · lasn · llans · lnas

Frequency comparison

lamb#39,367
lans#35,119

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lamb" and "lans" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈlæm\ versus \lɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lamb" or "lans"?
"lans" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,119 in our French list, against #39,367 for "lamb". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lamb vs lans

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 “lamb” 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