Which to use
“lead” and “lem” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,773
- “lead” frequency rank
- #40,348
- “lem” frequency rank
- 61121
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lead | lem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Puissant coup de poing direct du bras arrière. | Membre, partie du corps. |
Letter map: lead vs lem
Shared letters muted; letters that set lead and lem apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Pair insight - lead / lem
lead and lem are indexed as a confusable French pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61121, 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\. lem is at rank #40,348, tagged as anoun.
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 61121, this pair ranks #93,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lead vs lem
Shared letters: el. Private to "lead": ad. Private to "lem": m.
"lead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lead ← elad · laed · leadd · leda · llead
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lead" for "lem" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lead" or "lem"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "lead" and "lem".
- Full dictionary entry for "lead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #93,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lead" and "lem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lem 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 #93,958 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.