Which to use
“lean” is an adjective and “lem” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,078
- “lean” frequency rank
- #40,348
- “lem” frequency rank
- 66426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lean | lem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Économe, frugal, surtout en rapport avec les techniques de lean management. | Membre, partie du corps. |
Letter map: lean vs lem
Shared letters muted; letters that set lean and lem apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Grammar separator: lean vs lem
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: lean is anadjective and lemanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lean is recorded at frequency rank #26,078, classified as anadj, pronounced \lin\. 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 66426, this pair ranks #67,887 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lean vs lem
Shared letters: el. Private to "lean": an. Private to "lem": m.
"lean" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lean ← leann · llean
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lean" for "lem" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "lean" or "lem" show up more?
Useful next steps
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "lean" and "lem".
- Full dictionary entry for "lean" 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 #67,887 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lean" 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 #67,887 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.