Which to use
“lou” is a noun and “lui” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,204
- “lou” frequency rank
- #68
- “lui” frequency rank
- 7272
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lou | lui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Loup. | Pronom clitique de la troisième personne du singulier épicène du complément d’objet indirect. |
Where the eye mixes lou and lui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lou vs lui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lou is \lu\ 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 (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lou is recorded at frequency rank #7,204, classified as anoun, pronounced \lu\. 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 7272, this pair ranks #423,651 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lou vs lui
Shared letters: lu. Private to "lou": o. Private to "lui": i.
"lou" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lou" and "lui" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lou" vs "lui" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lou" 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 #423,651 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lou" and "lui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lobo vs lou". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #423,651 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.