Which to use
“1ère” is an adjective and “première” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,720
- “1ère” frequency rank
- #165
- “première” frequency rank
- 5885
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | 1ère | première |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première. | Nom que l’on donne à la toute première représentation publique d’un spectacle, d’un film, d’une pièce de théâtre, etc, d'une opération chirurgicale, d'une ascension par une nouvelle voie, etc. |
Same sound, different letters: 1ère vs première
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters. 1ère runs 3 letters (VCV) against première's 8 (CCVCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - 1ère and première
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: 1ère and première carry the same recorded pronunciation, \pʁə.mjɛʁ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 4 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
1ère is recorded at frequency rank #5,720, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁə.mjɛʁ\. première is at rank #165, tagged as anoun, 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 5885, this pair ranks #427,782 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of 1ère vs première
Shared letters: erè. Private to "1ère": -. Private to "première": imp.
"1ère" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "première" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "1ère" and "première" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "1ère" or "première"?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "1ère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "première" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,782 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "1ère" and "première" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "première vs prémisse". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #427,782 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.