Which to use
“aigu” and “ailé” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,595
- “aigu” frequency rank
- #38,126
- “ailé” frequency rank
- 52721
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aigu | ailé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a un aspect pointu, tranchant, voire déchirant. | Qui possède des ailes. |
Where the eye mixes aigu and ailé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. aigu and ailé follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between aigu and ailé
A purely visual mix-up. aigu (\e.ɡy\) and ailé (\ɛ.le\) 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 52721, 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\. ailé is at rank #38,126, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ.le\.
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 52721, this pair ranks #145,756 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aigu vs ailé
Shared letters: ai. Private to "aigu": gu. Private to "ailé": lé.
"aigu" · 4 letters · shape VVCV · "ailé" · 4 letters · shape VVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- aigu ← agiu · aiggu · aiug · iagu
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "aigu" and "ailé" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "aigu" or "ailé"?
Useful next steps
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 "ailé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,756 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aigu" and "ailé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ailé 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 #145,756 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.