allumevsallumentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: allume is a noun, allument is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“allume” is a noun and “allument” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,264
“allume” frequency rank
#32,268
“allument” frequency rank
41532
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature allume allument
Definition Petit morceau de bois qui sert à allumer une cheminée, un poêle, etc. Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe allumer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set allume and allument apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
allume
8 ch
allument

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: allume and allument carry the same recorded pronunciation, \a.lym\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “allume” sits inside “allument”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41532, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

allume is recorded at frequency rank #9,264, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.lym\. allument is at rank #32,268, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.lym\.

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 41532, this pair ranks #232,405 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of allume vs allument

Shared letters: aelmu. Private to "allume": -. Private to "allument": nt.

"allume" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "allument" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • allumeallmue · alluem · allumme · alulme · alume · lalume
  • allumentallmuent · alluemnt · allumennt · allumentt · allumetn · allumment · allumnet · alulment

Frequency comparison

allume#9,264
allument#32,268

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "allume" and "allument" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "allume" is a noun and "allument" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "allume" or "allument"?
"allume" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,264 in our French list, against #32,268 for "allument". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering allume vs allument

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “allume”; for a verb, it's “allument”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “allume” 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