Which to use
“brèves” and “brisés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,225
- “brèves” frequency rank
- #19,769
- “brisés” frequency rank
- 38994
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | brèves | brisés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de bref. | Masculin pluriel de brisé. |
Where the eye mixes brèves and brisés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. brèves and brisés follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: brèves vs brisés
A purely visual mix-up. brèves (\bʁɛv\) and brisés (\bʁi.ze\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
brèves is recorded at frequency rank #19,225, classified as anadj, pronounced \bʁɛv\. brisés is at rank #19,769, tagged as anadj, pronounced \bʁi.ze\.
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 38994, this pair ranks #251,301 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of brèves vs brisés
Shared letters: brs. Private to "brèves": evè. Private to "brisés": ié.
"brèves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "brisés" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "brèves" and "brisés" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "brèves" vs "brisés" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "brèves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "brisés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #251,301 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "brèves" and "brisés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "brider vs brisés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #251,301 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.