avalervsavareWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: avaler is a verb, avare is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“avaler” is a verb and “avare” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,273
“avaler” frequency rank
#23,458
“avare” frequency rank
32731
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature avaler avare
Definition Faire descendre par le gosier dans l’estomac. Qui a un désir excessif d’accumuler.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set avaler and avare apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
avaler
5 ch
avare

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: avaler is \a.va.le\ while avare is \a.vaʁ\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

avaler is recorded at frequency rank #9,273, classified as averb, pronounced \a.va.le\. avare is at rank #23,458, tagged as anadj, pronounced \a.vaʁ\.

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 32731, this pair ranks #295,316 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of avaler vs avare

Shared letters: aerv. Private to "avaler": l. Private to "avare": -.

"avaler" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "avare" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • avaleraavler · avaelr · avalerr · avaller · avalre · avlaer · avvaler · vaaler
  • avareaavre · avaer · avarre · avrae · avvare · vaare

Frequency comparison

avaler#9,273
avare#23,458

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "avaler" and "avare" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "avaler" is a verb and "avare" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "avaler" or "avare"?
"avaler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,273 in our French list, against #23,458 for "avare". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering avaler vs avare

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “avaler”; for an adjective, it's “avare”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “avaler” 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