Which to use
“left” is an adjective and “lez” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,581
- “left” frequency rank
- #21,063
- “lez” frequency rank
- 40644
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | left | lez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gauche. | À côté de, proche de, tout contre. |
Where the eye mixes left and lez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses left with lez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: left is \ˈlɛft\ while lez is \lɛ\. 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 (adjective vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
left is recorded at frequency rank #19,581, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈlɛft\. lez is at rank #21,063, tagged as aprep, pronounced \lɛ\.
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 40644, this pair ranks #239,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of left vs lez
Shared letters: el. Private to "left": ft. Private to "lez": z.
"left" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lez" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- left ← elft · lefft · leftt · letf · lfet · lleft
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "left" for "lez" ever safe?
Frequency check: "left" vs "lez" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "left" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #239,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "left" and "lez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lep vs lez". 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 #239,024 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.