Which to use
“bourgeois” is an adjective and “bourgeoisie” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,089
- “bourgeois” frequency rank
- #27,752
- “bourgeoisie” frequency rank
- 44841
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bourgeois | bourgeoisie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Of or relating to the middle class (often derogatory), and their presumed overly conventional, conservative, and materialistic values. | A class of citizens who were wealthier members of the third estate. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bourgeois and bourgeoisie apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
bourgeois and bourgeoisie form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “bourgeois” sits inside “bourgeoisie” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44841, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bourgeois is recorded at frequency rank #17,089, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈbɔːʒ.wɑː/. bourgeoisie is at rank #27,752, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌbʊə(ɹ)ʒwɑːˈziː/.
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 44841, this pair ranks #226,824 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bourgeois" and "bourgeoisie" be used interchangeably?
Remembering bourgeois vs bourgeoisie
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “bourgeois”; for a noun, it's “bourgeoisie”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bourgeois” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable