légèrement

\le.ʒɛʁ.mɑ̃\

/\le.ʒɛʁ.mɑ̃\/ adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“légèrement” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,322 in French word frequency and used as an adverb.

#2,322
frequency rank, French
10
letters
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - D’une manière légère, non pesante.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

légèrement vs légalement
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for légèrement
PropertyValue
Headwordlégèrement
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\le.ʒɛʁ.mɑ̃\
Letters10
Frequency rank#2,322
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “légèrement” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). légèrement lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for légèrement is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \le.ʒɛʁ.mɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,322 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for légèrement, with forms such as "legerement", "lgéèrement", and "llégèrement". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "légalement", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is légèrement, spelled L-É-G-È-R-E-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    D’une manière légère, non pesante.
  2. 2
    Avec agilité.
  3. 3
    Définition manquante ou à compléter. (Ajouter)
  4. 4
    Se met quelquefois sur les partitions pour indiquer, dans certains passages, un mouvement analogue à celui de l’allegro vivace et joué de la pointe de l’archet, ou sans forcer le souffle si ce sont des instruments à vent.
  5. 5
    D’une façon peu copieuse.
  6. 6
    D’une façon peu considérable, peu grave.
  7. 7
    Par antiphrase, légèrement est quelquefois pris aujourd'hui pour fortement, gravement, très fort.
  8. 8
    Avec délicatesse et agrément.
  9. 9
    D’une façon inconsidérée.
  10. 10
    Sans égards suffisants.

Synonyms

sur les bords

This word in other languages

lightly(English)ligeramente(Español)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: legerement,lgéèrement,llégèrement,léggèrement,légrèement,légèerment,légèreemnt,légèremennt,légèrementt,légèremetn,légèremment,légèremnet,légèrmeent,légèrrement,léègrement,élgèrement

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of légèrement - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

legerement2lgéèrement2llégèrement1léggèrement1légrèement2légèerment2légèreemnt2légèremennt1
Edit distance from "légèrement"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "légèrement"?
"légèrement" is spelled L-É-G-È-R-E-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \le.ʒɛʁ.mɑ̃\.
What does "légèrement" mean?
As an adverb, "légèrement" means: D’une manière légère, non pesante.
What words are commonly confused with "légèrement"?
"légèrement" is commonly confused with "légalement". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "légèrement"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "légèrement" is \le.ʒɛʁ.mɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "légèrement" come from?
"légèrement" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “légèrement”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is L-É-G-È-R-E-M-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \le.ʒɛʁ.mɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “légalement” - see the side-by-side comparison. légèrement vs légalement
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list