Which to use
“lem” and “lest” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,348
- “lem” frequency rank
- #27,865
- “lest” frequency rank
- 68213
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lem | lest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Membre, partie du corps. | Pierres, sable ou autres matières pesantes dont on charge le fond d’un bateau pour lui donner la stabilité convenable, en le faisant suffisamment entrer dans l’eau. |
Letter map: lem vs lest
Shared letters muted; letters that set lem and lest apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Spelling & dictionary notes on lem vs lest
lem and lest are indexed as a confusable French pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lem is recorded at frequency rank #40,348, classified as anoun. lest is at rank #27,865, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛst\.
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 68213, this pair ranks #60,076 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lem vs lest
Shared letters: el. Private to "lem": m. Private to "lest": st.
"lem" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lest" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lest ← elst · lesst · lestt · lets · llest · lset
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lem" and "lest" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lem" vs "lest" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "lem" and "lest". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "lem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,076 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lem" and "lest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lem vs lep". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #60,076 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.