aigrivsaiguëWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,264
“aigri” frequency rank
#14,192
“aiguë” frequency rank
46456
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aigri aiguë
Definition Rendu aigre. Féminin singulier d'aigu.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aigri and aiguë apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
aigri
5 ch
aiguë

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aigri (\ɛ.ɡʁi\) 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 46456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aigri is recorded at frequency rank #32,264, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ.ɡʁi\. 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 46456, this pair ranks #194,799 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aigri vs aiguë

Shared letters: agi. Private to "aigri": r. Private to "aiguë": .

"aigri" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV  ·  "aiguë" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aigriagiri · aiggri · aigir · aigrri · airgi · iagri

Frequency comparison

aigri#32,264
aiguë#14,192

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aigri" and "aiguë" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ.ɡʁi\ versus \e.ɡy\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aigri" or "aiguë"?
"aiguë" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,192 in our French list, against #32,264 for "aigri". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aigri vs aiguë

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 “aigri” 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