Which to use
“Lefèvre” is a name and “lièvre” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,655
- “Lefèvre” frequency rank
- #18,525
- “lièvre” frequency rank
- 43180
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lefèvre | lièvre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom de famille fréquent en France. | Quadrupède mammifère, à longues oreilles, de la famille des léporidés, qui a les pattes de derrière plus longues que celles de devant, ce qui le rend très rapide à la course. |
Where the eye mixes Lefèvre and lièvre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Lefèvre runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against lièvre's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Lefèvre vs lièvre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lefèvre is \lə.fɛvʁ\ while lièvre is \ljɛvʁ\. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43180, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Lefèvre is recorded at frequency rank #24,655, classified as aname, pronounced \lə.fɛvʁ\. lièvre is at rank #18,525, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ljɛvʁ\.
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 43180, this pair ranks #220,039 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Lefèvre vs lièvre
Shared letters: elrvè. Private to "Lefèvre": f. Private to "lièvre": i.
"Lefèvre" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "lièvre" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Lefèvre" for "lièvre" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Lefèvre" or "lièvre"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lefèvre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lièvre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,039 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lefèvre" and "lièvre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lefèvre vs Lelièvre". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #220,039 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.