luthvslutteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,476
“luth” frequency rank
#1,184
“lutte” frequency rank
37660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature luth lutte
Definition Cordophone portable d’origine arabe, de corps généralement piriforme prolongé par un manche recouvert d'une touche sur laquelle le musicien appuie avec les doigts d'une main les cordes tendues attachées au cordier à une extrémité, et à la table d'harmonie à l'autre, ceci afin de modifier les notes obtenues, tandis que de l'autre main il excite les cordes à vibrer au-dessus de la caisse de résonance, soit en les tirant et les relâchant vivement, ou les frappant, soit en les frottant avec un outil tel un archet. Sorte d’exercice, de combat, où deux hommes se prennent corps à corps et cherchent à se terrasser l’un l’autre.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
luth
5 ch
lutte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. luth and lutte are pronounced identically (\lyt\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

luth is recorded at frequency rank #36,476, classified as anoun, pronounced \lyt\. lutte is at rank #1,184, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lyt\.

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 37660, this pair ranks #260,890 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of luth vs lutte

Shared letters: ltu. Private to "luth": h. Private to "lutte": e.

"luth" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lutte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • luthlluth · ltuh · luht · luthh · lutth · ulth
  • luttellutte · ltute · lute · lutet · ultte

Frequency comparison

luth#36,476
lutte#1,184

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "luth" and "lutte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\lyt\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "luth" or "lutte"?
"lutte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,184 in our French list, against #36,476 for "luth". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering luth vs lutte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “luth” 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