Which to use
“lampes” and “larmes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,079
- “lampes” frequency rank
- #3,014
- “larmes” frequency rank
- 14093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lampes | larmes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de lampe. | Pluriel de larme. |
Where the eye mixes lampes and larmes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lampes with larmes
A purely visual mix-up. lampes (\lɑ̃p\) and larmes (\laʁm\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lampes is recorded at frequency rank #11,079, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃p\. larmes is at rank #3,014, tagged as anoun, pronounced \laʁm\.
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 14093, this pair ranks #398,219 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lampes vs larmes
Shared letters: aelms. Private to "lampes": p. Private to "larmes": r.
"lampes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "larmes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lampes" and "larmes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "lampes" or "larmes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lampes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "larmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #398,219 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lampes" and "larmes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lampes vs limes". 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 #398,219 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.