lavevslavezWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lave is a noun, lavez is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lave” is a noun and “lavez” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,996
“lave” frequency rank
#31,117
“lavez” frequency rank
37113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lave lavez
Definition , Roche en fusion rejetée par un volcan en éruption. Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de laver.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lave and lavez apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lave
5 ch
lavez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

lave and lavez form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “lave” sits inside “lavez” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lave is recorded at frequency rank #5,996, classified as anoun, pronounced \lav\. lavez is at rank #31,117, tagged as averb, pronounced \la.ve\.

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 37113, this pair ranks #264,812 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

lave#5,996
lavez#31,117

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lave" and "lavez" be used interchangeably?
No, "lave" and "lavez" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering lave vs lavez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lave”; for a verb, it's “lavez”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lave” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list