Which to use
“lesser” is an adjective and “lesson” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,806
- “lesser” frequency rank
- #3,177
- “lesson” frequency rank
- 8983
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lesser | lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | comparative form of little: more little | To instruct to teach. |
Where the eye mixes lesser and lesson
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lesser vs lesson
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lesser is /ˈlɛsɚ/ while lesson is /ˈlɛs.ən/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lesser is recorded at frequency rank #5,806, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɛsɚ/. lesson is at rank #3,177, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlɛs.ən/.
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 8983, this pair ranks #499,682 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lesser vs lesson
Shared letters: els. Private to "lesser": r. Private to "lesson": no.
"lesser" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lesson" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lesser" and "lesson" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lesser" vs "lesson" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lesser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lesson" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #499,682 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lesser" and "lesson" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lessee vs lesser". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #499,682 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.