Which to use
“ailé” is an adjective and “ait” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,126
- “ailé” frequency rank
- #538
- “ait” frequency rank
- 38664
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ailé | ait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui possède des ailes. | Troisième personne du singulier du subjonctif présent du verbe auxiliaire avoir. |
Where the eye mixes ailé and ait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ailé runs 4 letters (VVCV) against ait's 3 (VVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ailé with ait
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ailé is \ɛ.le\ while ait is \ɛ\. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38664, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ailé is recorded at frequency rank #38,126, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ.le\. ait is at rank #538, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ\.
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 38664, this pair ranks #253,674 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ailé vs ait
Shared letters: ai. Private to "ailé": lé. Private to "ait": t.
"ailé" · 4 letters · shape VVCV · "ait" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ailé" for "ait" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ailé" or "ait"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ailé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #253,674 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ailé" and "ait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ailé vs Aure". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #253,674 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.