lancersvslancesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,714
“lancers” frequency rank
#15,925
“lances” frequency rank
41639
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lancers lances
Definition Pluriel de lancer. Pluriel de lance.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lancers and lances apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
lancers
6 ch
lances

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lancers (\lɑ̃.se\) and lances (\lɑ̃s\) 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 41639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lancers is recorded at frequency rank #25,714, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃.se\. lances is at rank #15,925, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃s\.

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 41639, this pair ranks #231,609 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lancers vs lances

Shared letters: acelns. Private to "lancers": r. Private to "lances": -.

"lancers" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "lances" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lancersalncers · lacners · lanccers · lancerrs · lancerss · lancesr · lancres · lanecrs
  • lancesalnces · lacnes · lancces · lancess · lancse · lanecs · lannces · llances

Frequency comparison

lancers#25,714
lances#15,925

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lancers" and "lances" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lɑ̃.se\ versus \lɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lancers" or "lances"?
"lances" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,925 in our French list, against #25,714 for "lancers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lancers vs lances

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 “lancers” 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