alegrevsalerteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“alegre” and “alerte” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#36,235
“alegre” frequency rank
#2,907
“alerte” frequency rank
39142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alegre alerte
Definition Gai, joyeux. Qui se tient sur ses gardes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alegre and alerte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
alegre
6 ch
alerte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alegre ([aˈle.ɣ̞ɾe]) and alerte (\a.lɛʁt\) 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 39142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alegre is recorded at frequency rank #36,235, classified as anadj, pronounced [aˈle.ɣ̞ɾe]. alerte is at rank #2,907, tagged as anadj, pronounced \a.lɛʁt\.

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 39142, this pair ranks #250,184 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alegre vs alerte

Shared letters: aelr. Private to "alegre": g. Private to "alerte": t.

"alegre" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "alerte" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alegreaelgre · aleger · aleggre · alegrre · alerge · algere · allegre · laegre
  • alerteaelrte · aleret · alerrte · alertte · aletre · allerte · alrete · laerte

Frequency comparison

alegre#36,235
alerte#2,907

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alegre" and "alerte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈle.ɣ̞ɾe] versus \a.lɛʁt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alegre" or "alerte"?
"alerte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,907 in our French list, against #36,235 for "alegre". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering alegre vs alerte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alegre” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list