Which to use
“lèvre” and “levure” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,423
- “lèvre” frequency rank
- #19,056
- “levure” frequency rank
- 32479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lèvre | levure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie extérieure et charnue qui borde la bouche, qui couvre les dents et qui aide à la formation des sons, à l’articulation des mots. Note d’usage : Très souvent employé au pluriel pour comprendre la lèvre supérieure et la lèvre inférieure. | Écume que fait la bière quand elle fermente, et dont les boulangers et les pâtissiers se servent quelquefois au lieu d’autre levain. |
Where the eye mixes lèvre and levure
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lèvre vs levure
A purely visual mix-up. lèvre (\lɛvʁ\) and levure (\lə.vyʁ\) 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 32479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lèvre is recorded at frequency rank #13,423, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛvʁ\. levure is at rank #19,056, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lə.vyʁ\.
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 32479, this pair ranks #296,994 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lèvre vs levure
Shared letters: elrv. Private to "lèvre": è. Private to "levure": u.
"lèvre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "levure" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- levure ← elvure · leuvre · levrue · levuer · levurre · levvure · llevure · lveure
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lèvre" for "levure" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lèvre" or "levure"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lèvre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "levure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,994 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lèvre" and "levure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "levure vs lure". 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 #296,994 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.