Which to use
“amère” and “âpre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,544
- “amère” frequency rank
- #29,604
- “âpre” frequency rank
- 46148
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | amère | âpre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de amer. | Qui, par sa rudesse ou son âcreté, produit une sensation désagréable aux organes du toucher, de l’ouïe ou du goût. |
Where the eye mixes amère and âpre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: amère vs âpre
A purely visual mix-up. amère (\a.mɛʁ\) and âpre (\ɑpʁ\) 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 46148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
amère is recorded at frequency rank #16,544, classified as anadj, pronounced \a.mɛʁ\. âpre is at rank #29,604, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɑpʁ\.
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 46148, this pair ranks #197,220 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of amère vs âpre
Shared letters: er. Private to "amère": amè. Private to "âpre": pâ.
"amère" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "âpre" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "amère" and "âpre" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "amère" or "âpre" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "amère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "âpre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #197,220 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "amère" and "âpre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "âpre vs aur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #197,220 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.