Which to use
“lei” and “lis” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,248
- “lei” frequency rank
- #3,147
- “lis” frequency rank
- 33395
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lei | lis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de leu. | Genre de liliacées qui porte, sur une haute tige, des fleurs à trois pétales et trois sépales pétaloïdes. |
Where the eye mixes lei and lis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lei and lis
A purely visual mix-up. lei (\lɛj\) and lis (\lis\) 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 33395, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lei is recorded at frequency rank #30,248, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛj\. lis is at rank #3,147, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lis\.
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 33395, this pair ranks #290,925 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lei vs lis
Shared letters: il. Private to "lei": e. Private to "lis": s.
"lei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lei" and "lis" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lei" vs "lis" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lei" and "lis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #290,925 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lei" and "lis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lei vs lep". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #290,925 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.