loisvslothWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,296
“lois” frequency rank
#45,714
“loth” frequency rank
47010
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lois loth
Definition Pluriel de loi. Variante orthographique de loath.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lois and loth apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lois
4 ch
loth

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: lois is anoun and lothanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lois is recorded at frequency rank #1,296, classified as anoun, pronounced \lwa\. 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 47010, this pair ranks #190,357 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lois vs loth

Shared letters: lo. Private to "lois": is. Private to "loth": ht.

"lois" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "loth" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • loislios · llois · loiss · losi · olis
  • lothlloth · loht · lothh · lotth · ltoh · olth

Frequency comparison

lois#1,296
loth#45,714

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lois" and "loth" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lois" is a noun and "loth" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lois" or "loth"?
"lois" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,296 in our French list, against #45,714 for "loth". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lois vs loth

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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