labeurvslueurConfusable pair

Which to use

“labeur” and “lueur” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20,182
“labeur” frequency rank
#14,724
“lueur” frequency rank
34906
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature labeur lueur
Definition Travail pénible exigeant un effort d’une certaine durée. Lumière faible ou affaiblie.

Where the eye mixes labeur and lueur

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. labeur runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against lueur's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
labeur
5 ch
lueur

Look-alike desk: labeur vs lueur

A purely visual mix-up. labeur (\la.bœʁ\) and lueur (\lɥœʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

labeur is recorded at frequency rank #20,182, classified as anoun, pronounced \la.bœʁ\. lueur is at rank #14,724, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɥœʁ\.

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 34906, this pair ranks #280,548 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of labeur vs lueur

Shared letters: elru. Private to "labeur": ab. Private to "lueur": -.

"labeur" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "lueur" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • labeur ← albeur · labbeur · laberu · labeurr · labuer · laebur · lbaeur · llabeur
  • lueur ← leuur · llueur · lueru · lueurr · luuer · uleur

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "labeur" for "lueur" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\la.bœʁ\ versus \lɥœʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "labeur" or "lueur"?
"lueur" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,724 in our French list, against #20,182 for "labeur". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "labeur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lueur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #280,548 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "labeur" and "lueur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "labeur vs Lacour". 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 #280,548 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list