Which to use
“lez” is a preposition and “lis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,063
- “lez” frequency rank
- #3,147
- “lis” frequency rank
- 24210
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lez | lis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | À côté de, proche de, tout contre. | Genre de liliacées qui porte, sur une haute tige, des fleurs à trois pétales et trois sépales pétaloïdes. |
Where the eye mixes lez and lis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lez with lis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lez is \lɛ\ while lis is \lis\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lez is recorded at frequency rank #21,063, classified as aprep, pronounced \lɛ\. lis is at rank #3,147, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lis\.
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 24210, this pair ranks #347,914 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lez vs lis
Shared letters: l. Private to "lez": ez. Private to "lis": is.
"lez" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lez" and "lis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "lez" or "lis"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lez" and "lis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #347,914 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lez" and "lis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lep vs lez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #347,914 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.