Which to use
“aigre” and “avare” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,810
- “aigre” frequency rank
- #23,458
- “avare” frequency rank
- 55268
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aigre | avare |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a une saveur acide et amère provoquant un sentiment désagréable. | Qui a un désir excessif d’accumuler. |
Where the eye mixes aigre and avare
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. aigre (VVCCV) and avare (VCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between aigre and avare
A purely visual mix-up. aigre (\ɛɡʁ\) and avare (\a.vaʁ\) 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 55268, 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\. avare is at rank #23,458, tagged as anadj, pronounced \a.vaʁ\.
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 55268, this pair ranks #128,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aigre vs avare
Shared letters: aer. Private to "aigre": gi. Private to "avare": v.
"aigre" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV · "avare" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aigre" and "avare" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "aigre" or "avare"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aigre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "avare" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #128,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aigre" and "avare" 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 #128,542 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.