leve vs lèvres, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#39,877
“leve” frequency rank: #2,934
“lèvres” frequency rank: 42811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	leve	lèvres
Definition	Pension.	Pluriel de lèvre.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

leve

6 ch

lèvres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. leve (\ˈleː.ve\) and lèvres (\lɛvʁ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leve is recorded at frequency rank #39,877, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈleː.ve\. lèvres is at rank #2,934, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɛvʁ\.

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 42811, this pair ranks #222,776 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leve vs lèvres

Shared letters: elv. Private to "leve": -. Private to "lèvres": rsè.

"leve" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lèvres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

leve ← elve · leev · levve · lleve · lvee

Frequency comparison

leve#39,877

lèvres#2,934

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leve" and "lèvres" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "leve" or "lèvres"?

"lèvres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,934 in our French list, against #39,877 for "leve". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering leve vs lèvres

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 “leve” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable