liervslikerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,528
“lier” frequency rank
#49,193
“liker” frequency rank
59721
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lier liker
Definition Serrer avec une corde ou avec toute autre chose flexible. Montrer son soutien, son approbation, son lien, son appréciation, ou bien le fait d’aimer un site ou quelque chose en cliquant sur un bouton virtuel ad'hoc portant un nom éponyme de type I like (« j’aime »).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lier and liker apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lier
5 ch
liker

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lier (\li.je\) and liker (\laj.ke\) 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 59721, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lier is recorded at frequency rank #10,528, classified as averb, pronounced \li.je\. liker is at rank #49,193, tagged as averb, pronounced \laj.ke\.

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 59721, this pair ranks #101,538 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lier vs liker

Shared letters: eilr. Private to "lier": -. Private to "liker": k.

"lier" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "liker" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lieriler · leir · lierr · llier
  • likerilker · liekr · likerr · likker · likre · lkier · lliker

Frequency comparison

lier#10,528
liker#49,193

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lier" and "liker" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\li.je\ versus \laj.ke\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lier" or "liker"?
"lier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,528 in our French list, against #49,193 for "liker". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lier vs liker

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 “lier” 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