Which to use
“libraire” and “library” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,720
- “libraire” frequency rank
- #24,658
- “library” frequency rank
- 39378
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | libraire | library |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Celui ou celle qui fait le commerce des livres. | Bibliothèque (qui met des livres à disposition du public). |
Where the eye mixes libraire and library
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: libraire vs library
A purely visual mix-up. libraire (\li.bʁɛʁ\) and library (\ˈlaɪ.ˌbɹɛɹ.i\) 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 39378, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
libraire is recorded at frequency rank #14,720, classified as anoun, pronounced \li.bʁɛʁ\. library is at rank #24,658, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈlaɪ.ˌbɹɛɹ.i\.
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 39378, this pair ranks #248,416 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of libraire vs library
Shared letters: abilr. Private to "libraire": e. Private to "library": y.
"libraire" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "library" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "libraire" for "library" ever safe?
Frequency check: "libraire" vs "library" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "libraire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "library" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,416 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "libraire" and "library" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "libertaire vs libraire". 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 #248,416 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.