Which to use
“1re” is an adjective and “première” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,950
- “1re” frequency rank
- #165
- “première” frequency rank
- 10115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | 1re | 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: 1re vs première
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 2 letters. 1re runs 2 letters (CV) 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 - 1re and première
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: 1re 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 5 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
1re is recorded at frequency rank #9,950, 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 10115, this pair ranks #414,165 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of 1re vs première
Shared letters: er. Private to "1re": -. Private to "première": impè.
"1re" · 2 letters · shape CV · "première" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "1re" for "première" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "1re" or "première" show up more?
After this comparison
"1re" and "première" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "1re" 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 #414,165 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "1re" and "première" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "1D vs 1re". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #414,165 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.