avarevsaverseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: avare is a adjective, averse is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#23,458
“avare” frequency rank
#28,451
“averse” frequency rank
51909
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature avare averse
Definition Qui a un désir excessif d’accumuler. Pluie soudaine, abondante et généralement brève.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
avare
6 ch
averse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: avare is \a.vaʁ\ while averse is \a.vɛʁs\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

avare is recorded at frequency rank #23,458, classified as anadj, pronounced \a.vaʁ\. averse is at rank #28,451, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.vɛʁs\.

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 51909, this pair ranks #151,539 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of avare vs averse

Shared letters: aerv. Private to "avare": -. Private to "averse": s.

"avare" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "averse" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • avareaavre · avaer · avarre · avrae · avvare · vaare
  • averseaevrse · averrse · avesre · avrese · avverse · vaerse

Frequency comparison

avare#23,458
averse#28,451

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "avare" and "averse" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "avare" is an adjective and "averse" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "avare" or "averse"?
"avare" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,458 in our French list, against #28,451 for "averse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering avare vs averse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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