alguevsargusTell them apart

Which to use

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

#31,338
“algue” frequency rank
#33,550
“argus” frequency rank
64888
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature algue argus
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. Publication donnant une cote des voitures en fonction de leur âge et modèle.

Where the eye mixes algue and argus

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

5 ch
algue
5 ch
argus

Look-alike desk: algue vs argus

A purely visual mix-up. algue (\alɡ\) and argus (\aʁ.ɡys\) 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 64888, 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\. argus is at rank #33,550, tagged as anoun, pronounced \aʁ.ɡys\.

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 64888, this pair ranks #74,877 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of algue vs argus

Shared letters: agu. Private to "algue": el. Private to "argus": rs.

"algue" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV  ·  "argus" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • algueaglue · algeu · alggue · allgue · aluge · lague
  • argusagrus · arggus · argsu · arguss · arrgus · arugs · ragus

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "algue" and "argus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\alɡ\ versus \aʁ.ɡys\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "algue" or "argus"?
"algue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,338 in our French list, against #33,550 for "argus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "algue" and "argus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "algue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "argus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #74,877 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "algue" and "argus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "argus vs aru". 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 #74,877 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