Which to use
“années” is a noun and “annexer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #189
- “années” frequency rank
- #33,114
- “annexer” frequency rank
- 33303
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | années | annexer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Décennie commençant en multiple de dix. | Joindre une chose à une autre principale pour qu’elle en dépende. |
Where the eye mixes années and annexer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. années runs 6 letters (VCCVVC) against annexer's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses années with annexer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: années is \a.ne\ while annexer is \a.nɛ.kse\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
années is recorded at frequency rank #189, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.ne\. annexer is at rank #33,114, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.nɛ.kse\.
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 33303, this pair ranks #291,543 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of années vs annexer
Shared letters: aen. Private to "années": sé. Private to "annexer": rx.
"années" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC · "annexer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- annexer ← anenxer · anexer · anneexr · annexerr · annexre · annexxer · annxeer · nanexer
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "années" and "annexer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "années" or "annexer" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "années" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "annexer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,543 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "années" and "annexer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "annexer vs annexés". 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 #291,543 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.