Which to use
“limit” is a noun and “list” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,467
- “limit” frequency rank
- #14,077
- “list” frequency rank
- 46544
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | limit | list |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Limite. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de listen. |
Where the eye mixes limit and list
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: limit vs list
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: limit is \ˈlɪm.ɪt\ while list is \lɪst\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
limit is recorded at frequency rank #32,467, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈlɪm.ɪt\. list is at rank #14,077, tagged as averb, pronounced \lɪst\.
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 46544, this pair ranks #194,075 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of limit vs list
Shared letters: ilt. Private to "limit": m. Private to "list": s.
"limit" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "list" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "limit" for "list" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "limit" or "list" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "limit" and "list" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "limit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "list" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #194,075 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "limit" and "list" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liait vs limit". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #194,075 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.