légendevslégèreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: légende is a noun, légère is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“légende” is a noun and “légère” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,183
“légende” frequency rank
#3,019
“légère” frequency rank
5202
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature légende légère
Definition Inscription gravée circulairement près des bords et quelquefois sur la tranche d’une pièce de monnaie, d’un jeton, d’une médaille. Féminin singulier de léger.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set légende and légère apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
légende
6 ch
légère

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: légende is \le.ʒɑ̃d\ while légère is \le.ʒɛʁ\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

légende is recorded at frequency rank #2,183, classified as anoun, pronounced \le.ʒɑ̃d\. légère is at rank #3,019, 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 5202, this pair ranks #429,658 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of légende vs légère

Shared letters: eglé. Private to "légende": dn. Private to "légère": .

"légende" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "légère" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Frequency comparison

légende#2,183
légère#3,019

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "légende" and "légère" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "légende" is a noun and "légère" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "légende" or "légère"?
"légende" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,183 in our French list, against #3,019 for "légère". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering légende vs légère

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “légende”; for an adjective, it's “légère”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “légende” 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