Which to use
“langue” and “laque” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #629
- “langue” frequency rank
- #27,499
- “laque” frequency rank
- 28128
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | langue | laque |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Organe musculaire charnu et mobile, situé à l’intérieur de la bouche, et permettant de percevoir le sens du goût et d’articuler certains sons. | Gomme laque ; sorte de résine, d’un rouge jaunâtre, qui sort des branches de plusieurs espèces d’arbres famille des Anacardiaceae poussant en Asie. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set langue and laque apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. langue (\lɑ̃ɡ\) and laque (\lak\) 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 28128, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
langue is recorded at frequency rank #629, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃ɡ\. laque is at rank #27,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lak\.
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 28128, this pair ranks #324,748 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of langue vs laque
Shared letters: aelu. Private to "langue": gn. Private to "laque": q.
"langue" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "laque" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "langue" and "laque" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "langue" or "laque"?
Remembering langue vs laque
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 “langue” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable