Which to use
“aigre” and “aiguë” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,810
- “aigre” frequency rank
- #14,192
- “aiguë” frequency rank
- 46002
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aigre | aiguë |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a une saveur acide et amère provoquant un sentiment désagréable. | Féminin singulier d'aigu. |
Where the eye mixes aigre and aiguë
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. aigre (VVCCV) and aiguë (VVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: aigre vs aiguë
A purely visual mix-up. aigre (\ɛɡʁ\) and aiguë (\e.ɡy\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46002, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aigre is recorded at frequency rank #31,810, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛɡʁ\. aiguë is at rank #14,192, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.ɡy\.
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 46002, this pair ranks #198,405 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aigre vs aiguë
Shared letters: agi. Private to "aigre": er. Private to "aiguë": uë.
"aigre" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV · "aiguë" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aigre ← agire · aiger · aiggre · aigrre · airge · iagre
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aigre" and "aiguë" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "aigre" vs "aiguë" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aigre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aiguë" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #198,405 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aigre" and "aiguë" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aigre vs Aure". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #198,405 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.