Which to use
“lans” and “lois” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,119
- “lans” frequency rank
- #1,296
- “lois” frequency rank
- 36415
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lans | lois |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Écart intempestif que fait un navire à droite ou à gauche de sa route ou rotation sur son mouillage. | Pluriel de loi. |
Where the eye mixes lans and lois
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lans and lois
A purely visual mix-up. lans (\lɑ̃\) and lois (\lwa\) 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 36415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lans is recorded at frequency rank #35,119, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃\. lois is at rank #1,296, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lwa\.
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 36415, this pair ranks #269,776 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lans vs lois
Shared letters: ls. Private to "lans": an. Private to "lois": io.
"lans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lois" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lans" and "lois" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "lans" or "lois" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lois" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #269,776 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lans" and "lois" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lago vs lans". 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 #269,776 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.