labovslebonWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: labo is a noun, lebon is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“labo” is a noun and “lebon” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,609
“labo” frequency rank
#41,867
“lebon” frequency rank
54476
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature labo lebon
Definition Laboratoire. Dans la nudité, de façon nue.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set labo and lebon apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
labo
5 ch
lebon

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: labo is \la.bo\ while lebon is \lɛˈbɔn\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54476, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

labo is recorded at frequency rank #12,609, classified as anoun, pronounced \la.bo\. lebon is at rank #41,867, tagged as anadv, pronounced \lɛˈbɔn\.

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 54476, this pair ranks #133,774 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of labo vs lebon

Shared letters: blo. Private to "labo": a. Private to "lebon": en.

"labo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lebon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laboalbo · labbo · laob · lbao · llabo
  • lebonelbon · lbeon · lebbon · lebno · lebonn · leobn · llebon

Frequency comparison

labo#12,609
lebon#41,867

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "labo" and "lebon" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "labo" is a noun and "lebon" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "labo" or "lebon"?
"labo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,609 in our French list, against #41,867 for "lebon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering labo vs lebon

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “labo”; for an adverb, it's “lebon”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “labo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list