Which to use
“lèvres” and “lires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,934
- “lèvres” frequency rank
- #35,129
- “lires” frequency rank
- 38063
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lèvres | lires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de lèvre. | Pluriel de lire. |
Where the eye mixes lèvres and lires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lèvres runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against lires's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lèvres with lires
A purely visual mix-up. lèvres (\lɛvʁ\) and lires (\liʁ\) 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 38063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lèvres is recorded at frequency rank #2,934, classified as anoun, pronounced \lɛvʁ\. lires is at rank #35,129, tagged as anoun, pronounced \liʁ\.
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 38063, this pair ranks #257,933 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lèvres vs lires
Shared letters: elrs. Private to "lèvres": vè. Private to "lires": i.
"lèvres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lires ← ilres · liers · liress · lirres · lirse · llires · lries
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lèvres" and "lires" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lèvres" or "lires"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lèvres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,933 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lèvres" and "lires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liker vs lires". 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 #257,933 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.