alguevsalurTell them apart

Which to use

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

#31,338
“algue” frequency rank
#37,647
“alur” frequency rank
68985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature algue alur
Definition Végétal aquatique poussant sous l’eau (par opposition aux nénufars) pouvant appartenir à des groupes phylogénétiques très différents (polyphylétique) et capables de photosynthèse, donc autotrophes. Langue nilotique occidentale parlée traditionnellement par les Alur.

Where the eye mixes algue and alur

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
algue
4 ch
alur

Why the eye confuses algue with alur

A purely visual mix-up. algue (\alɡ\) and alur (\a.lyʁ\) 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 68985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

algue is recorded at frequency rank #31,338, classified as anoun, pronounced \alɡ\. alur is at rank #37,647, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.lyʁ\.

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 68985, this pair ranks #56,937 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of algue vs alur

Shared letters: alu. Private to "algue": eg. Private to "alur": r.

"algue" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV  ·  "alur" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • algueaglue · algeu · alggue · allgue · aluge · lague
  • alurallur · alru · alurr · aulr · laur

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "algue" for "alur" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\alɡ\ versus \a.lyʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "algue" or "alur"?
"algue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,338 in our French list, against #37,647 for "alur". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "algue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "alur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #56,937 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "algue" and "alur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alur vs aur". 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 #56,937 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