Which to use
“aigu” is an adjective and “ail” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,595
- “aigu” frequency rank
- #9,426
- “ail” frequency rank
- 24021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aigu | ail |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a un aspect pointu, tranchant, voire déchirant. | Espèce de plante à bulbe de la famille des liliacées (classification classique) ou des amaryllidacées (classification phylogénétique) à bulbe composé de plusieurs petites gousses réunies sous une enveloppe commune, utilisé en cuisine, d’une odeur et d’un goût très fort et piquant dû notamment à des composés de soufre. |
Where the eye mixes aigu and ail
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: aigu vs ail
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aigu is \e.ɡy\ while ail is \aj\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aigu is recorded at frequency rank #14,595, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.ɡy\. ail is at rank #9,426, tagged as anoun, pronounced \aj\.
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 24021, this pair ranks #349,110 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of aigu vs ail
Shared letters: ai. Private to "aigu": gu. Private to "ail": l.
"aigu" · 4 letters · shape VVCV · "ail" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aigu ← agiu · aiggu · aiug · iagu
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "aigu" and "ail" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "aigu" or "ail"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aigu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ail" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #349,110 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aigu" and "ail" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aigu vs aru". 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 #349,110 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.