lier

\li.je\

/\li.je\/ verb

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

The verdict

“lier” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #10,528) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#10,528
frequency rank, French
2,567
“L” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Serrer avec une corde ou avec toute autre chose flexible.

Corpus desk

Index FR-lier · lier · French

lier · rank #10,528 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,528
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,567
  • PHOTO-FINISH lesbiennes

Nearest frequency peer: lesbiennes (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “lier”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “lier” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

lier vs LR
0% similar
lier vs lit
50% similar
lier vs lis
50% similar

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

Key facts for lier
PropertyValue
Headwordlier
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\li.je\
Letters4
Frequency rank#10,528
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lier” sits in French frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).lier lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for lier is neighbouring look-alikes ("LR", "lit", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced \li.je\. Frequency #10,528 among 2,567 “L” headwords. 14 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for lier, with forms such as "iler", "leir", and "lierr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "LR", "lit", "lis", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is lier, spelled L-I-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Serrer avec une corde ou avec toute autre chose flexible.
  2. 2
    Saisir l’oiseau avec ses serres, en parlant d'un oiseau de proie.
  3. 3
    Faire un nœud.
  4. 4
    Joindre différentes parties par quelque substance qui s’incorpore dans les unes et dans les autres.
  5. 5
    Donner de la consistance, épaissir une sauce.
  6. 6
    Joindre les lettres dans l’écriture.
  7. 7
    Exécuter successivement deux ou plusieurs notes d’un même coup d’archet, ou d’un seul coup de langue sur un instrument à vent, ou d’un seul coup de gosier en chantant.
  8. 8
    Faire une liaison lors d’un énoncé, modifier la prononciation d’un mot en fonction de son contexte dans la phrase.
  9. 9
    …
  10. 10
    …
  11. 11
    Entrer en conversation, en commerce, en relations avec quelqu’un.
  12. 12
    Attacher, unir, enchaîner ensemble en parlant des personnes.
  13. 13
    Astreindre, obliger.
  14. 14
    Exprime le pouvoir de juridiction spirituelle donné par Jésus-Christ à l’église, au for intérieur et au for extérieur.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how lier appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Deux autres aides […] enlevèrent rapidement la camisole de Troppmann, lui placèrent les mains derrière le dos, les lièrent en croix et lui couvrirent le corps de courroies.
  2. Lier un fagot, une botte de foin, une gerbe de blé. — Lier avec un mouchoir.

Synonyms

attacherrelier

Antonyms

délier

This word in other languages

tie(English)ligar(Español)binden(Deutsch)atar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iler
  • leir
  • lierr
  • llier

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lier - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

iler2leir2lierr1llier1
Edit distance from "lier"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lier"?
"lier" is spelled L-I-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \li.je\.
What does "lier" mean?
As a verb, "lier" means: Serrer avec une corde ou avec toute autre chose flexible.
What words are commonly confused with "lier"?
"lier" is commonly confused with "LR", "lit", "lis". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lier"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lier" is \li.je\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lier" come from?
"lier" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lier", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

josh#10,525loue#10,531jobs#10,524Lucy#10,533

What to do next

You've looked up "lier". Here's where to go from here.

  • "lier" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "LR". View pair
  • 4 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #10,528 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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