1ervs1èreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“1er” and “1ère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#893
“1er” frequency rank
#5,720
“1ère” frequency rank
6613
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature 1er 1ère
Definition Premier. Première.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set 1er and 1ère apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
1er
4 ch
1ère

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. 1er (\pʁə.mje\) and 1ère (\pʁə.mjɛʁ\) 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 6613, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

1er is recorded at frequency rank #893, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁə.mje\. 1ère is at rank #5,720, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁə.mjɛʁ\.

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 6613, this pair ranks #425,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of 1er vs 1ère

Shared letters: er. Private to "1er": -. Private to "1ère": è.

"1er" · 2 letters · shape VC  ·  "1ère" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequency comparison

1er#893
1ère#5,720

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "1er" and "1ère" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pʁə.mje\ versus \pʁə.mjɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "1er" or "1ère"?
"1er" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #893 in our French list, against #5,720 for "1ère". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering 1er vs 1ère

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 “1er” 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