lochvslothWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: loch is a noun, loth is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“loch” is a noun and “loth” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,033
“loch” frequency rank
#45,714
“loth” frequency rank
81747
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loch loth
Definition Plan d’eau, lac, fjord, estuaire, baie ou crique en Écosse ou en Irlande. Variante orthographique de loath.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
loch
4 ch
loth

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: loch is anoun and lothanadjective. On the page they differ by a single letter - c in “loch” becomes t in “loth”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loch is recorded at frequency rank #36,033, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɔk\. loth is at rank #45,714, tagged as anadj.

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 81747, this pair ranks #18,108 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of loch vs loth

Shared letters: hlo. Private to "loch": c. Private to "loth": t.

"loch" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "loth" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lochlcoh · lloch · locch · lochh · lohc · olch
  • lothlloth · loht · lothh · lotth · ltoh · olth

Frequency comparison

loch#36,033
loth#45,714

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loch" and "loth" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loch" is a noun and "loth" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "loch" or "loth"?
"loch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,033 in our French list, against #45,714 for "loth". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering loch vs loth

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “loch”; for an adjective, it's “loth”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “loch” 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