lièvresvslivresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,388
“lièvres” frequency rank
#903
“livres” frequency rank
42291
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lièvres livres
Definition Pluriel de lièvre. Pluriel de livre (ouvrage qu’on lit).

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
lièvres
6 ch
livres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lièvres (\ljɛvʁ\) and livres (\livʁ\) 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 42291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lièvres is recorded at frequency rank #41,388, classified as anoun, pronounced \ljɛvʁ\. livres is at rank #903, tagged as anoun, pronounced \livʁ\.

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 42291, this pair ranks #226,719 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lièvres vs livres

Shared letters: eilrsv. Private to "lièvres": è. Private to "livres": -.

"lièvres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "livres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • livresilvres · lirves · livers · livress · livrres · livrse · livvres · llivres

Frequency comparison

lièvres#41,388
livres#903

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lièvres" and "livres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ljɛvʁ\ versus \livʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lièvres" or "livres"?
"livres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #903 in our French list, against #41,388 for "lièvres". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lièvres vs livres

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 “lièvres” 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