lièvrevslièvresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,525
“lièvre” frequency rank
#41,388
“lièvres” frequency rank
59913
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lièvre lièvres
Definition Quadrupède mammifère, à longues oreilles, de la famille des léporidés, qui a les pattes de derrière plus longues que celles de devant, ce qui le rend très rapide à la course. Pluriel de lièvre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lièvre and lièvres apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
lièvre
7 ch
lièvres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. lièvre and lièvres are pronounced identically (\ljɛvʁ\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “lièvre” sits inside “lièvres”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lièvre is recorded at frequency rank #18,525, classified as anoun, pronounced \ljɛvʁ\. 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 59913, this pair ranks #100,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lièvre vs lièvres

Shared letters: eilrvè. Private to "lièvre": -. Private to "lièvres": s.

"lièvre" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "lièvres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Frequency comparison

lièvre#18,525
lièvres#41,388

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lièvre" and "lièvres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ljɛvʁ\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "lièvre" or "lièvres"?
"lièvre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,525 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 lièvre 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 “lièvre” 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