Which to use
“approcher” and “approuver” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,165
- “approcher” frequency rank
- #13,319
- “approuver” frequency rank
- 19484
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | approcher | approuver |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mettre proche, mettre près. | Tenir pour acceptable. |
Where the eye mixes approcher and approuver
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. approcher (VCCCVCCVC) and approuver (VCCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: approcher vs approuver
A purely visual mix-up. approcher (\a.pʁɔ.ʃe\) and approuver (\a.pʁu.ve\) 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 19484, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
approcher is recorded at frequency rank #6,165, classified as averb, pronounced \a.pʁɔ.ʃe\. approuver is at rank #13,319, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.pʁu.ve\.
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 19484, this pair ranks #373,039 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of approcher vs approuver
Shared letters: aeopr. Private to "approcher": ch. Private to "approuver": uv.
"approcher" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC · "approuver" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "approcher" and "approuver" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "approcher" vs "approuver" - which ranks higher?
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 "approcher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "approuver" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #373,039 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "approcher" and "approuver" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "approuvées vs approuver". 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 #373,039 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.