abaisservsapaiserWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,589
“abaisser” frequency rank
#11,171
“apaiser” frequency rank
25760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abaisser apaiser
Definition Mettre en position plus basse, faire descendre, diminuer la hauteur. Ramener au calme, à un état paisible.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abaisser and apaiser apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
abaisser
7 ch
apaiser

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abaisser (\a.be.se\) and apaiser (\a.pe.ze\) 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 25760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abaisser is recorded at frequency rank #14,589, classified as averb, pronounced \a.be.se\. apaiser is at rank #11,171, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.pe.ze\.

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 25760, this pair ranks #339,000 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abaisser vs apaiser

Shared letters: aeirs. Private to "abaisser": b. Private to "apaiser": p.

"abaisser" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCVC  ·  "apaiser" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abaisseraabisser · abaiser · abaisesr · abaisserr · abaissre · abasiser · abbaisser · abiasser
  • apaiseraapiser · apaiesr · apaiserr · apaisre · apaisser · apasier · apiaser · appaiser

Frequency comparison

abaisser#14,589
apaiser#11,171

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abaisser" and "apaiser" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\a.be.se\ versus \a.pe.ze\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abaisser" or "apaiser"?
"apaiser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,171 in our French list, against #14,589 for "abaisser". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abaisser vs apaiser

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 “abaisser” 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