LobvslobesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Lob” and “lobes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,529
“Lob” frequency rank
#29,422
“lobes” frequency rank
72951
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lob lobes
Definition Éloge, compliment, félicitations, louange. Pluriel de lobe.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lob and lobes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
Lob
5 ch
lobes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lob (\loːp\) and lobes (\lɔb\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Lob” sits inside “lobes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72951, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lob is recorded at frequency rank #43,529, classified as anoun, pronounced \loːp\. lobes is at rank #29,422, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɔb\.

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 72951, this pair ranks #42,236 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lob vs lobes

Shared letters: blo. Private to "Lob": -. Private to "lobes": es.

"Lob" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "lobes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lobeslboes · llobes · lobbes · lobess · lobse · loebs · olbes

Frequency comparison

Lob#43,529
lobes#29,422

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lob" and "lobes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\loːp\ versus \lɔb\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lob" or "lobes"?
"lobes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,422 in our French list, against #43,529 for "Lob". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Lob vs lobes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Lob” 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