Which to use
“lock” and “loue” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,485
- “lock” frequency rank
- #10,531
- “loue” frequency rank
- 31016
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lock | loue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de locken. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de louer. |
Where the eye mixes lock and loue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lock with loue
A purely visual mix-up. lock (\lɔk\) and loue (\lu\) 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 31016, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lock is recorded at frequency rank #20,485, classified as averb, pronounced \lɔk\. loue is at rank #10,531, tagged as averb, pronounced \lu\.
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 31016, this pair ranks #306,537 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lock vs loue
Shared letters: lo. Private to "lock": ck. Private to "loue": eu.
"lock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "loue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lock" and "loue" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lock" vs "loue" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,537 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lock" and "loue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lobo vs lock". 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 #306,537 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.