lièvre

\ljɛvʁ\

/\ljɛvʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“lièvre” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #18,525 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#18,525
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — Quadrupède mammifère, à longues oreilles, de la famille des léporidés, qui a les pattes de derrière plus longues que celles de devant, ce qui le rend très rapide à la course.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

lièvre vs lire
67% similar
lièvre vs live
67% similar
lièvre vs livre
83% similar

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

Key facts for lièvre
PropertyValue
Headwordlièvre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ljɛvʁ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#18,525
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lièvre” 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). lièvre 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 lièvre is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ljɛvʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #18,525 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for lièvre, with forms such as "ilèvre", "lievre", and "livère". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lire", "live", "livre", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is lièvre, spelled L-I-È-V-R-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Quadrupède mammifère, à longues oreilles, de la famille des léporidés, qui a les pattes de derrière plus longues que celles de devant, ce qui le rend très rapide à la course.
  2. 2
    Quadrupède mammifère, à longues oreilles, de la famille des léporidés, qui a les pattes de derrière plus longues que celles de devant, ce qui le rend très rapide à la course.
  3. 3
    La chair de cet animal.
  4. 4
    Coureur chargé de donner un rythme soutenu lors d'une course de fond ou demi-fond, de manière à favoriser un ou plusieurs concurrents ou, plus généralement, coureur qui peut servir de cible pour motiver d’autres coureurs.
  5. 5
    Meuble représentant l’animal du même nom dans les armoiries. Il est normalement représenté comme le lapin, mais il est plutôt utilisé sous sa forme courante ou en forme. À rapprocher de bièvre, castor, connil, écureuil et lapin.

Synonyms

hasemeneur d’alluremeneuse d’allure

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ilèvre,lievre,livère,lièrve,lièver,lièvrre,lièvvre,llièvre,lèivre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lièvre - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "lièvre"

ilèvre2lievre1livère2lièrve2lièver2lièvrre1lièvvre1llièvre1
Edit distance from "lièvre"

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.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “lièvre, French word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/fr/mot/lievre

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lièvre"?
"lièvre" is spelled L-I-È-V-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ljɛvʁ\.
What does "lièvre" mean?
As a noun, "lièvre" means: Quadrupède mammifère, à longues oreilles, de la famille des léporidés, qui a les pattes de derrière plus longues que celles de devant, ce qui le rend très rapide à la course.
What words are commonly confused with "lièvre"?
"lièvre" is commonly confused with "lire", "live", "livre". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lièvre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lièvre" is \ljɛvʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lièvre" come from?
"lièvre" 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 “lièvre”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is L-I-È-V-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ljɛvʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “lire” - see the side-by-side comparison. lièvre vs lire
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter L in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

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