amèresvsamiesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,151
“amères” frequency rank
#5,212
“amies” frequency rank
44363
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature amères amies
Definition Féminin pluriel de amer. Féminin pluriel de ami.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set amères and amies apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
amères
5 ch
amies

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. amères (\a.mɛʁ\) and amies (\a.mi\) 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 44363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

amères is recorded at frequency rank #39,151, classified as anadj, pronounced \a.mɛʁ\. amies is at rank #5,212, tagged as anadj, pronounced \a.mi\.

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 44363, this pair ranks #210,984 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of amères vs amies

Shared letters: aems. Private to "amères": . Private to "amies": i.

"amères" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "amies" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • amiesameis · amiess · amise · ammies · maies

Frequency comparison

amères#39,151
amies#5,212

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "amères" and "amies" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\a.mɛʁ\ versus \a.mi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "amères" or "amies"?
"amies" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,212 in our French list, against #39,151 for "amères". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering amères vs amies

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “amères” 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