Which to use
“langage” and “lavage” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,320
- “langage” frequency rank
- #11,243
- “lavage” frequency rank
- 13563
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | langage | lavage |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Emploi que l’être humain fait des sons et des articulations de la voix pour exprimer ses pensées et ses sentiments. | Action de laver. |
Where the eye mixes langage and lavage
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. langage runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against lavage's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between langage and lavage
A purely visual mix-up. langage (\lɑ̃.ɡaʒ\) and lavage (\la.vaʒ\) 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 13563, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
langage is recorded at frequency rank #2,320, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃.ɡaʒ\. lavage is at rank #11,243, tagged as anoun, pronounced \la.vaʒ\.
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 13563, this pair ranks #400,489 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of langage vs lavage
Shared letters: aegl. Private to "langage": n. Private to "lavage": v.
"langage" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "lavage" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "langage" for "lavage" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "langage" or "lavage" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "langage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lavage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #400,489 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "langage" and "lavage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lavage vs lavait". 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 #400,489 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.