Which to use
“légat” is a noun and “légaux” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,638
- “légat” frequency rank
- #14,308
- “légaux” frequency rank
- 42946
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | légat | légaux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ambassadeur, lieutenant d’un commandant d'armée, ou haut fonctionnaire romain. | Masculin pluriel de légal. |
Where the eye mixes légat and légaux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. légat runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against légaux's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses légat with légaux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: légat is \le.ɡa\ while légaux is \le.ɡo\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42946, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
légat is recorded at frequency rank #28,638, classified as anoun, pronounced \le.ɡa\. légaux is at rank #14,308, tagged as anadj, pronounced \le.ɡo\.
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 42946, this pair ranks #221,738 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of légat vs légaux
Shared letters: aglé. Private to "légat": t. Private to "légaux": ux.
"légat" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "légaux" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "légat" for "légaux" ever safe?
Frequency check: "légat" vs "légaux" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "légat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "légaux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,738 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "légat" and "légaux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "légat vs Leia". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #221,738 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.