levuresvslièvresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,578
“levures” frequency rank
#41,388
“lièvres” frequency rank
72966
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature levures lièvres
Definition Pluriel de levure. Pluriel de lièvre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set levures and lièvres apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
levures
7 ch
lièvres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. levures (\lə.vyʁ\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72966, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

levures is recorded at frequency rank #31,578, classified as anoun, pronounced \lə.vyʁ\. 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 72966, this pair ranks #42,172 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of levures vs lièvres

Shared letters: elrsv. Private to "levures": u. Private to "lièvres": .

"levures" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "lièvres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • levureselvures · leuvres · levrues · levuers · levuress · levurres · levurse · levvures

Frequency comparison

levures#31,578
lièvres#41,388

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "levures" and "lièvres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\lə.vyʁ\ versus \ljɛvʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "levures" or "lièvres"?
"levures" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,578 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.

Remembering levures vs lièvres

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 “levures” 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