Which to use
“laps” and “leaks” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,786
- “laps” frequency rank
- #44,019
- “leaks” frequency rank
- 62805
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laps | leaks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Période de temps. | Pluriel de leak. |
Where the eye mixes laps and leaks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses laps with leaks
A purely visual mix-up. laps (\laps\) and leaks (\ˈliks\) 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 62805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laps is recorded at frequency rank #18,786, classified as anoun, pronounced \laps\. leaks is at rank #44,019, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈliks\.
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 62805, this pair ranks #85,209 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of laps vs leaks
Shared letters: als. Private to "laps": p. Private to "leaks": ek.
"laps" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "leaks" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laps" for "leaks" ever safe?
Which is more common, "laps" or "leaks"?
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 "laps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leaks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #85,209 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laps" and "leaks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leaks vs levais". 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 #85,209 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.