le
/leɪ/article
le is spelled L-E: 2 letters and one syllable. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,992nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an article, le means “the” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in le?
| Letters | 2: L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 32 times per million words; the 2,992nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is le?
Le appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,992nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce le?
- /lə/
- US /leɪ/
- /liː/
As a preposition (“Next to, near (still used in some place names)”): /lə/, /li/, /leɪ/.
Le has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Ookap-le.wav, En-us-le.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with le
Sounds like: lay, lei (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with le?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as le from its last stressed vowel (/eɪ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does le mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
article
- 1
informalthe
If you tickle me again, I'ma kick you in le balls.
noun
- 1
Initialism of law enforcement.
LE seized the package.
- 2
Initialism of limited edition.
- 3
Initialism of luxury edition.
preposition
- 1
obsoleteNext to, near (still used in some place names).
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham near an old Roman road.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Le in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense frequentative suffix:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does le come from?
Borrowed from French le (“the”). Popularized especially by the expression le sigh.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).