lepvslipsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lep is a adjective, lips is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lep” is an adjective and “lips” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,766
“lep” frequency rank
#46,867
“lips” frequency rank
96633
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lep lips
Definition Beau, agréable. Pluriel de lip.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lep and lips apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
lep
4 ch
lips

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lep is \lɛːp\ while lips is \ˈlɪps\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 96633, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lep is recorded at frequency rank #49,766, classified as anadj, pronounced \lɛːp\. lips is at rank #46,867, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈlɪps\.

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 96633, this pair ranks #604 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lep vs lips

Shared letters: lp. Private to "lep": e. Private to "lips": is.

"lep" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "lips" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lipsilps · lipps · lipss · lisp · llips

Frequency comparison

lep#49,766
lips#46,867

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lep" and "lips" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lep" is an adjective and "lips" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lep" or "lips"?
"lips" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46,867 in our French list, against #49,766 for "lep". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lep vs lips

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “lep”; for a noun, it's “lips”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lep” 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