loquevslouWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“loque” and “lou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,272
“loque” frequency rank
#7,204
“lou” frequency rank
53476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loque lou
Definition Étoffe réduite en lambeaux par suite de l’usure. Loup.

Where the eye mixes loque and lou

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
loque
3 ch
lou

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. loque (\lɔk\) and lou (\lu\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53476, 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\. lou is at rank #7,204, tagged as anoun, 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 53476, this pair ranks #140,468 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of loque vs lou

Shared letters: lou. Private to "loque": eq. Private to "lou": -.

"loque" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "lou" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • loquelloque · loqeu · loqque · louqe · lqoue · olque

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loque" and "lou" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lɔk\ versus \lu\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "loque" or "lou"?
"lou" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,204 in our French list, against #46,272 for "loque". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list