Which to use
“less” is an adverb and “let's” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #305
- “less” frequency rank
- #712
- “let's” frequency rank
- 1017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | less | let's |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | comparative degree of little | Used to form the cohortative of verbs, equivalent of the first-person plural imperative in some other languages. |
Where the eye mixes less and let's
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: less is /lɛs/ while let's is /lɛts/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
less is recorded at frequency rank #305, classified as anadv, pronounced /lɛs/. let's is at rank #712, tagged as averb, pronounced /lɛts/.
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 1017, this pair ranks #528,300 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of less vs let's
Shared letters: els. Private to "less": -. Private to "let's": t.
"less" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "let's" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- less ← elss · lless · lses