loquevslueWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#46,272
“loque” frequency rank
#16,669
“lue” frequency rank
62941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loque lue
Definition Étoffe réduite en lambeaux par suite de l’usure. Féminin singulier de lu.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set loque and lue apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
loque
3 ch
lue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loque is \lɔk\ while lue is \ly\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62941, 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\. lue is at rank #16,669, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ly\.

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 62941, this pair ranks #84,434 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of loque vs lue

Shared letters: elu. Private to "loque": oq. Private to "lue": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequency comparison

loque#46,272
lue#16,669

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loque" and "lue" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loque" is a noun and "lue" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "loque" or "lue"?
"lue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,669 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.

Remembering loque vs lue

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “loque”; for an adjective, it's “lue”.
  • 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