Which to use
“aléa” and “ape” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,240
- “aléa” frequency rank
- #34,411
- “ape” frequency rank
- 70651
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aléa | ape |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chance bonne ou mauvaise. | Triporteur à moteur. |
Where the eye mixes aléa and ape
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. aléa runs 4 letters (VCVV) against ape's 3 (VCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: aléa vs ape
A purely visual mix-up. aléa (\a.le.a\) and ape (\a.pe\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70651, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aléa is recorded at frequency rank #36,240, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.le.a\. ape is at rank #34,411, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.pe\.
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 70651, this pair ranks #50,557 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of aléa vs ape
Shared letters: a. Private to "aléa": lé. Private to "ape": ep.
"aléa" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "ape" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "aléa" for "ape" ever safe?
Which is more common, "aléa" or "ape"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "aléa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ape" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #50,557 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aléa" and "ape" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aléa vs avéra". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #50,557 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.