Which to use
“légère” is an adjective and “lever” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,019
- “légère” frequency rank
- #2,370
- “lever” frequency rank
- 5389
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | légère | lever |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de léger. | Faire qu’une chose soit plus haut qu’elle n’était. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set légère and lever apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: légère is \le.ʒɛʁ\ while lever is \lə.ve\. 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 5389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
légère is recorded at frequency rank #3,019, classified as anadj, pronounced \le.ʒɛʁ\. lever is at rank #2,370, tagged as averb, pronounced \lə.ve\.
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 5389, this pair ranks #429,144 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of légère vs lever
Shared letters: elr. Private to "légère": gèé. Private to "lever": v.
"légère" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "lever" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lever ← elver · leevr · leverr · levre · levver · llever · lveer
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "légère" and "lever" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "légère" or "lever"?
Remembering légère vs lever
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “légère”; for a verb, it's “lever”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “légère” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable