litresvsloutresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,108
“litres” frequency rank
#45,716
“loutres” frequency rank
51824
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature litres loutres
Definition Pluriel de litre. Pluriel de loutre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set litres and loutres apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
litres
7 ch
loutres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. litres (\litʁ\) and loutres (\lutʁ\) 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 51824, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

litres is recorded at frequency rank #6,108, classified as anoun, pronounced \litʁ\. loutres is at rank #45,716, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lutʁ\.

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 51824, this pair ranks #152,166 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of litres vs loutres

Shared letters: elrst. Private to "litres": i. Private to "loutres": ou.

"litres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "loutres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • litresiltres · lirtes · liters · litress · litrres · litrse · littres · llitres
  • loutreslloutres · lotures · lourtes · louters · loutress · loutrres · loutrse · louttres

Frequency comparison

litres#6,108
loutres#45,716

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "litres" and "loutres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\litʁ\ versus \lutʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "litres" or "loutres"?
"litres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,108 in our French list, against #45,716 for "loutres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering litres vs loutres

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 “litres” 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