autovsautreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: auto is a noun, autre is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“auto” is a noun and “autre” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,803
“auto” frequency rank
#96
“autre” frequency rank
1899
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature auto autre
Definition Automobile. Du même type mais dont l’identité est différente de ce dont on vient de parler.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
auto
5 ch
autre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

auto and autre form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1899, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

auto is recorded at frequency rank #1,803, classified as anoun, pronounced \o.to\. autre is at rank #96, tagged as anadj, pronounced \otʁ\.

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 1899, this pair ranks #437,174 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

auto#1,803
autre#96

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "auto" and "autre" be used interchangeably?
No, "auto" and "autre" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering auto vs autre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “auto”; for an adjective, it's “autre”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “auto” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list