avertirvsavorterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“avertir” and “avorter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,641
“avertir” frequency rank
#18,657
“avorter” frequency rank
29298
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature avertir avorter
Definition Informer quelqu’un de quelque chose, prévenir une personne. Mettre bas accidentellement un fœtus non viable (pour les femmes, on dit « faire une fausse couche »).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set avertir and avorter apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
avertir
7 ch
avorter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. avertir (\a.vɛʁ.tiʁ\) and avorter (\a.vɔʁ.te\) 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 29298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

avertir is recorded at frequency rank #10,641, classified as averb, pronounced \a.vɛʁ.tiʁ\. avorter is at rank #18,657, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.vɔʁ.te\.

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 29298, this pair ranks #317,567 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of avertir vs avorter

Shared letters: aertv. Private to "avertir": i. Private to "avorter": o.

"avertir" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "avorter" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • avertiraevrtir · averitr · averrtir · avertirr · avertri · averttir · avetrir · avretir
  • avorteraovrter · avoretr · avorrter · avorterr · avortre · avortter · avotrer · avroter

Frequency comparison

avertir#10,641
avorter#18,657

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "avertir" and "avorter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\a.vɛʁ.tiʁ\ versus \a.vɔʁ.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "avertir" or "avorter"?
"avertir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,641 in our French list, against #18,657 for "avorter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering avertir vs avorter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “avertir” 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