lemmevsleveWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,640
“lemme” frequency rank
#39,877
“leve” frequency rank
88517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lemme leve
Definition Proposition dont la démonstration est nécessaire pour une autre proposition qui doit la suivre. Pension.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lemme and leve apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lemme
4 ch
leve

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lemme (\lɛm\) and leve (\ˈleː.ve\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lemme is recorded at frequency rank #48,640, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛm\. leve is at rank #39,877, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈleː.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 88517, this pair ranks #6,892 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lemme vs leve

Shared letters: el. Private to "lemme": m. Private to "leve": v.

"lemme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "leve" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lemmeelmme · leme · lemem · llemme · lmeme
  • leveelve · leev · levve · lleve · lvee

Frequency comparison

lemme#48,640
leve#39,877

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lemme" and "leve" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lɛm\ versus \ˈleː.ve\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lemme" or "leve"?
"leve" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,877 in our French list, against #48,640 for "lemme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lemme vs leve

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 “lemme” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list