Which to use
“légaux” and “loyaux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,308
- “légaux” frequency rank
- #22,926
- “loyaux” frequency rank
- 37234
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | légaux | loyaux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de légal. | Masculin pluriel de loyal. |
Where the eye mixes légaux and loyaux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. légaux (CVCVVC) and loyaux (CVVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between légaux and loyaux
A purely visual mix-up. légaux (\le.ɡo\) and loyaux (\lwa.jo\) 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 37234, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
légaux is recorded at frequency rank #14,308, classified as anadj, pronounced \le.ɡo\. loyaux is at rank #22,926, tagged as anadj, pronounced \lwa.jo\.
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 37234, this pair ranks #263,943 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of légaux vs loyaux
Shared letters: alux. Private to "légaux": gé. Private to "loyaux": oy.
"légaux" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "loyaux" · 6 letters · shape CVVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- loyaux ← lloyaux · loayux · loyauxx · loyaxu · loyuax · loyyaux · lyoaux · olyaux
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "légaux" and "loyaux" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "légaux" or "loyaux" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "légaux" and "loyaux" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "légaux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loyaux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #263,943 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "légaux" and "loyaux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "legacy vs légaux". 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 #263,943 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.