légalesvslégèresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“légales” and “légères” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,265
“légales” frequency rank
#9,508
“légères” frequency rank
17773
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature légales légères
Definition Féminin pluriel de légal. Féminin pluriel de léger.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set légales and légères apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
légales
7 ch
légères

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. légales (\le.ɡal\) and légères (\le.ʒɛʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

légales is recorded at frequency rank #8,265, classified as anadj, pronounced \le.ɡal\. légères is at rank #9,508, tagged as anadj, pronounced \le.ʒɛʁ\.

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 17773, this pair ranks #381,561 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of légales vs légères

Shared letters: eglsé. Private to "légales": a. Private to "légères": .

"légales" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "légères" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

légales#8,265
légères#9,508

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "légales" and "légères" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\le.ɡal\ versus \le.ʒɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "légales" or "légères"?
"légales" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,265 in our French list, against #9,508 for "légères". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering légales vs légères

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “légales” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list