Which to use
“ailier” is a noun and “ailles” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,299
- “ailier” frequency rank
- #25,192
- “ailles” frequency rank
- 37491
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ailier | ailles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Au basket-ball, joueur qui évolue près de la ligne de touche devant, compromis entre la taille et la puissance d"un intérieur ou d'un pivot, et l"agilité et la dextérité d"un meneur ou d"un arrière. | Deuxième personne du singulier du subjonctif présent du verbe aller. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ailier and ailles apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ailier is \ɛ.lje\ while ailles is \aj\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ailier is recorded at frequency rank #12,299, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ.lje\. ailles is at rank #25,192, tagged as averb, 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 37491, this pair ranks #262,143 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ailier vs ailles
Shared letters: aeil. Private to "ailier": r. Private to "ailles": s.
"ailier" · 6 letters · shape VVCVVC · "ailles" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ailier" and "ailles" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ailier" or "ailles"?
Remembering ailier vs ailles
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ailier”; for a verb, it's “ailles”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ailier” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable