légions vs lésions, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#17,757
“légions” frequency rank: #11,254
“lésions” frequency rank: 29011
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	légions	lésions
Definition	Pluriel de légion.	Pluriel de lésion.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set légions and lésions apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

légions

7 ch

lésions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. légions (\le.ʒjɔ̃\) and lésions (\le.zjɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - g in “légions” becomes s in “lésions”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

légions is recorded at frequency rank #17,757, classified as anoun, pronounced \le.ʒjɔ̃\. lésions is at rank #11,254, tagged as anoun, pronounced \le.zjɔ̃\.

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 29011, this pair ranks #319,299 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of légions vs lésions

Shared letters: ilnosé. Private to "légions": g. Private to "lésions": -.

"légions" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "lésions" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Frequency comparison

légions#17,757

lésions#11,254

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "légions" and "lésions" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\le.ʒjɔ̃\ versus \le.zjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "légions" or "lésions"?

"lésions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,254 in our French list, against #17,757 for "légions". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering légions vs lésions

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 “légions” entry
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