Which to use
“lol” is an intj and “lui” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,626
- “lol” frequency rank
- #68
- “lui” frequency rank
- 2694
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lol | lui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Formule qui est principalement utilisée à l’écrit (par Internet puis par SMS) et qui indique que son auteur est en train de rire ou est très amusé. | Pronom clitique de la troisième personne du singulier épicène du complément d’objet indirect. |
Where the eye mixes lol and lui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between lol and lui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lol is \lɔl\ while lui is \lɥi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lol is recorded at frequency rank #2,626, classified as anintj, pronounced \lɔl\. lui is at rank #68, tagged as apron, pronounced \lɥi\.
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 2694, this pair ranks #435,646 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lol vs lui
Shared letters: l. Private to "lol": o. Private to "lui": iu.
"lol" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lol" and "lui" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "lol" or "lui" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lol" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #435,646 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lol" and "lui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lobo vs lol". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #435,646 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.