Which to use
“légaux” is an adjective and “lègue” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,308
- “légaux” frequency rank
- #32,472
- “lègue” frequency rank
- 46780
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | légaux | lègue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de légal. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de léguer. |
Where the eye mixes légaux and lègue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. légaux runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against lègue's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses légaux with lègue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: légaux is \le.ɡo\ while lègue is \lɛɡ\. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
légaux is recorded at frequency rank #14,308, classified as anadj, pronounced \le.ɡo\. lègue is at rank #32,472, tagged as averb, pronounced \lɛɡ\.
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 46780, this pair ranks #192,144 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of légaux vs lègue
Shared letters: glu. Private to "légaux": axé. Private to "lègue": eè.
"légaux" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "lègue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "légaux" for "lègue" ever safe?
Frequency check: "légaux" vs "lègue" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "légaux" and "lègue" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "légaux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lègue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,144 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "légaux" and "lègue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lègue vs leste". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #192,144 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.