lochesvslocusWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,430
“loches” frequency rank
#42,439
“locus” frequency rank
89869
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loches locus
Definition Pluriel de loche. Emplacement d’un gène sur un chromosome.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
loches
5 ch
locus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. loches (\lɔʃ\) and locus (\lɔ.kys\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 89869, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loches is recorded at frequency rank #47,430, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɔʃ\. locus is at rank #42,439, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɔ.kys\.

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 89869, this pair ranks #5,362 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of loches vs locus

Shared letters: clos. Private to "loches": eh. Private to "locus": u.

"loches" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "locus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • locheslcohes · lloches · locches · locehs · lochess · lochhes · lochse · lohces
  • locusllocus · loccus · locsu · locuss · loucs · olcus

Frequency comparison

loches#47,430
locus#42,439

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loches" and "locus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lɔʃ\ versus \lɔ.kys\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "loches" or "locus"?
"locus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,439 in our French list, against #47,430 for "loches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering loches vs locus

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 “loches” 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