Legible and readable are close in meaning, but they are not identical.
Legible is about visual clarity. If letters and words are easy to see and distinguish, the text is legible. This often depends on font choice, size, spacing, and contrast. A street sign with large clear letters is legible from a distance.
Readable is about ease of reading in a broader sense. A readable text is comfortable to move through and easy to understand. This can include sentence length, word choice, layout, and organization. A beginner guide may be very readable because it uses simple language and clear structure.
Here is a quick contrast:
- The road sign is legible from far away.
- The article is readable for beginners.
Something can be legible but not very readable. For example, a report may use a clear font and good contrast, yet still feel hard to read because the ideas are dense or the sentences are too complex.
Use legible for how text looks. Use readable for how text reads.
