barrervsberreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,523
“barrer” frequency rank
#47,187
“berre” frequency rank
59710
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature barrer berre
Definition Fermer avec une barre. Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de berrar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
barrer
5 ch
berre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. barrer (\ba.ʁe\) and berre (\ˈbɛ.ʀɨ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59710, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

barrer is recorded at frequency rank #12,523, classified as averb, pronounced \ba.ʁe\. berre is at rank #47,187, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈbɛ.ʀɨ\.

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 59710, this pair ranks #101,616 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of barrer vs berre

Shared letters: ber. Private to "barrer": a. Private to "berre": -.

"barrer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "berre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • barrerabrrer · barerr · barrerr · barrre · bbarrer · brarer
  • berrebberre · berer · brere · ebrre

Frequency comparison

barrer#12,523
berre#47,187

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "barrer" and "berre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ba.ʁe\ versus \ˈbɛ.ʀɨ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "barrer" or "berre"?
"barrer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,523 in our French list, against #47,187 for "berre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering barrer vs berre

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 “barrer” 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