loquevslorsqueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: loque is a noun, lorsque is a conjunction, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“loque” is a noun and “lorsque” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,272
“loque” frequency rank
#465
“lorsque” frequency rank
46737
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loque lorsque
Definition Étoffe réduite en lambeaux par suite de l’usure. Quand, au moment où.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set loque and lorsque apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
loque
7 ch
lorsque

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loque is \lɔk\ while lorsque is \lɔʁsk\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs conjunction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46737, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loque is recorded at frequency rank #46,272, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɔk\. lorsque is at rank #465, tagged as aconj, pronounced \lɔʁsk\.

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 46737, this pair ranks #192,520 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of loque vs lorsque

Shared letters: eloqu. Private to "loque": -. Private to "lorsque": rs.

"loque" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "lorsque" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • loquelloque · loqeu · loqque · louqe · lqoue · olque
  • lorsquellorsque · lorqsue · lorrsque · lorsqeu · lorsqque · lorssque · lorsuqe · losrque

Frequency comparison

loque#46,272
lorsque#465

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loque" and "lorsque" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loque" is a noun and "lorsque" a conjunction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "loque" or "lorsque"?
"lorsque" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #465 in our French list, against #46,272 for "loque". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering loque vs lorsque

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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