abolirvsaboutirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,076
“abolir” frequency rank
#7,777
“aboutir” frequency rank
22853
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abolir aboutir
Definition Mettre hors d’usage, anéantir, supprimer, abroger. Toucher par un bout.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abolir and aboutir apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
abolir
7 ch
aboutir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abolir (\a.bɔ.liʁ\) and aboutir (\a.bu.tiʁ\) 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 22853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abolir is recorded at frequency rank #15,076, classified as averb, pronounced \a.bɔ.liʁ\. aboutir is at rank #7,777, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.bu.tiʁ\.

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 22853, this pair ranks #355,782 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of abolir vs aboutir

Shared letters: abior. Private to "abolir": l. Private to "aboutir": tu.

"abolir" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "aboutir" · 7 letters · shape VCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abolirabbolir · abloir · aboilr · abolirr · abollir · abolri · aoblir · baolir
  • aboutirabboutir · abotuir · abouitr · aboutirr · aboutri · abouttir · abuotir · aobutir

Frequency comparison

abolir#15,076
aboutir#7,777

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abolir" and "aboutir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\a.bɔ.liʁ\ versus \a.bu.tiʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abolir" or "aboutir"?
"aboutir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,777 in our French list, against #15,076 for "abolir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abolir vs aboutir

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 “abolir” 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