loisvslotisWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#1,296
“lois” frequency rank
#45,715
“lotis” frequency rank
47011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lois lotis
Definition Pluriel de loi. Masculin pluriel de loti.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
lois
5 ch
lotis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lois is \lwa\ while lotis is \lɔ.ti\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47011, 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\. lotis is at rank #45,715, tagged as anadj, pronounced \lɔ.ti\.

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 47011, this pair ranks #190,348 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lois vs lotis

Shared letters: ilos. Private to "lois": -. Private to "lotis": t.

"lois" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "lotis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • loislios · llois · loiss · losi · olis
  • lotisllotis · loits · lotiss · lotsi · lottis · ltois · oltis

Frequency comparison

lois#1,296
lotis#45,715

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lois" and "lotis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lois" is a noun and "lotis" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lois" or "lotis"?
"lois" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,296 in our French list, against #45,715 for "lotis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lois vs lotis

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 “lotis”.
  • 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