limesvslobesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,011
“limes” frequency rank
#29,422
“lobes” frequency rank
77433
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature limes lobes
Definition Système de fortifications établi au long de certaines des frontières de l’Empire romain. Pluriel de lobe.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set limes and lobes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
limes
5 ch
lobes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. limes (\li.mɛs\) and lobes (\lɔb\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77433, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

limes is recorded at frequency rank #48,011, classified as anoun, pronounced \li.mɛs\. lobes is at rank #29,422, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɔb\.

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 77433, this pair ranks #28,386 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of limes vs lobes

Shared letters: els. Private to "limes": im. Private to "lobes": bo.

"limes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "lobes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • limesilmes · liems · limess · limmes · limse · llimes · lmies
  • lobeslboes · llobes · lobbes · lobess · lobse · loebs · olbes

Frequency comparison

limes#48,011
lobes#29,422

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "limes" and "lobes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\li.mɛs\ versus \lɔb\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "limes" or "lobes"?
"lobes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,422 in our French list, against #48,011 for "limes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering limes vs lobes

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 “limes” 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