alegrevsalgèbreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alegre is a adjective, algèbre is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alegre” is an adjective and “algèbre” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,235
“alegre” frequency rank
#21,839
“algèbre” frequency rank
58074
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alegre algèbre
Definition Gai, joyeux. Branche des mathématiques qui étudie les structures algébriques, hors des notions de limite (rattachée à l’analyse) et de représentation graphique (concernant la géométrie).

Where the eye mixes alegre and algèbre

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. alegre runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against algèbre's 7 (VCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
alegre
7 ch
algèbre

Look-alike desk: alegre vs algèbre

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alegre is [aˈle.ɣ̞ɾe] while algèbre is \al.ʒɛbʁ\. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58074, 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]. algèbre is at rank #21,839, tagged as anoun, pronounced \al.ʒɛbʁ\.

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 58074, this pair ranks #111,199 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alegre vs algèbre

Shared letters: aeglr. Private to "alegre": -. Private to "algèbre": bè.

"alegre" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "algèbre" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alegre ← aelgre · aleger · aleggre · alegrre · alerge · algere · allegre · laegre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alegre" and "algèbre" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alegre" is an adjective and "algèbre" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alegre" or "algèbre"?
"algèbre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,839 in our French list, against #36,235 for "alegre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "alegre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "algèbre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #111,199 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alegre" and "algèbre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alegre vs allègue". 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 #111,199 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list