amievsamitiéWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,762
“amie” frequency rank
#2,307
“amitié” frequency rank
4069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature amie amitié
Definition Femme avec qui on est lié d’amitié. Sentiment réciproque qui engage deux personnes l’une envers l’autre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set amie and amitié apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
amie
6 ch
amitié

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. amie (\a.mi\) and amitié (\a.mi.tje\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

amie is recorded at frequency rank #1,762, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.mi\. amitié is at rank #2,307, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.mi.tje\.

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 4069, this pair ranks #432,545 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of amie vs amitié

Shared letters: aim. Private to "amie": e. Private to "amitié": .

"amie" · 4 letters · shape VCVV  ·  "amitié" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • amieamei · ammie · maie

Frequency comparison

amie#1,762
amitié#2,307

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "amie" and "amitié" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\a.mi\ versus \a.mi.tje\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "amie" or "amitié"?
"amie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,762 in our French list, against #2,307 for "amitié". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering amie vs amitié

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 “amie” 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