Which to use
“année” and “anniv” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #173
- “année” frequency rank
- #35,373
- “anniv” frequency rank
- 35546
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | année | anniv |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Subdivision du temps, correspondant à la durée d’une révolution de la Terre autour du Soleil, qui comporte 365 jours (ou 366 jours dans l’année bissextile), 52 semaines environ, 12 mois solaires. | Anniversaire. |
Where the eye mixes année and anniv
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. année (VCCVV) and anniv (VCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses année with anniv
A purely visual mix-up. année (\a.ne\) and anniv (\a.niv\) 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 35546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
année is recorded at frequency rank #173, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.ne\. anniv is at rank #35,373, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.niv\.
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 35546, this pair ranks #275,942 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of année vs anniv
Shared letters: an. Private to "année": eé. Private to "anniv": iv.
"année" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "anniv" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- anniv ← aninv · aniv · annivv · annvi · naniv
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "année" and "anniv" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "année" or "anniv" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "année" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "anniv" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #275,942 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "année" and "anniv" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "anni vs anniv". 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 #275,942 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.