lèvrevslièvresConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,423
“lèvre” frequency rank
#41,388
“lièvres” frequency rank
54811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lèvre lièvres
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. Pluriel de lièvre.

Where the eye mixes lèvre and lièvres

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lèvre runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against lièvres's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
lèvre
7 ch
lièvres

Look-alike desk: lèvre vs lièvres

A purely visual mix-up. lèvre (\lɛvʁ\) and lièvres (\ljɛvʁ\) 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 54811, 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\. lièvres is at rank #41,388, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ljɛvʁ\.

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 54811, this pair ranks #131,509 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lèvre vs lièvres

Shared letters: elrvè. Private to "lèvre": -. Private to "lièvres": is.

"lèvre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lièvres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lèvre" and "lièvres" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\lɛvʁ\ versus \ljɛvʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lèvre" or "lièvres"?
"lèvre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,423 in our French list, against #41,388 for "lièvres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "lièvres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #131,509 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lèvre" and "lièvres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lièvres vs lires". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #131,509 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list