Which to use
“lead” and “lei” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,773
- “lead” frequency rank
- #30,248
- “lei” frequency rank
- 51021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lead | lei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Puissant coup de poing direct du bras arrière. | Pluriel de leu. |
Where the eye mixes lead and lei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lead with lei
A purely visual mix-up. lead (\lid\) and lei (\lɛj\) 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 51021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lead is recorded at frequency rank #20,773, classified as anoun, pronounced \lid\. lei is at rank #30,248, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛj\.
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 51021, this pair ranks #158,191 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lead vs lei
Shared letters: el. Private to "lead": ad. Private to "lei": i.
"lead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lei" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lead ← elad · laed · leadd · leda · llead
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lead" and "lei" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "lead" or "lei" 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 "lead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #158,191 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lead" and "lei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lei vs lep". 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 #158,191 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.