Which to use
“libre” is an adjective and “Littré” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #648
- “libre” frequency rank
- #48,015
- “Littré” frequency rank
- 48663
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | libre | Littré |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a le pouvoir de faire ce qu’il veut, d’agir ou de ne pas agir, par opposition à esclave, servile, ou par opposition à captif, prisonnier. | Nom de famille français, rendu célèbre par Émile Littré, lexicographe du dix-neuvième siècle. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set libre and Littré apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: libre is \libʁ\ while Littré is \li.tʁe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48663, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
libre is recorded at frequency rank #648, classified as anadj, pronounced \libʁ\. Littré is at rank #48,015, tagged as aname, pronounced \li.tʁe\.
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 48663, this pair ranks #177,033 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of libre vs Littré
Shared letters: ilr. Private to "libre": be. Private to "Littré": té.
"libre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Littré" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- libre ← ilbre · lbire · libbre · librre · lirbe · llibre
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "libre" and "Littré" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "libre" or "Littré"?
Remembering libre vs Littré
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “libre”; for a name, it's “Littré”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “libre” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable