calquevscalquéeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: calque is a noun, calquée is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“calque” is a noun and “calquée” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,328
“calque” frequency rank
#46,628
“calquée” frequency rank
78956
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calque calquée
Definition Reproduction obtenue en calquant. Participe passé féminin singulier du verbe calquer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set calque and calquée apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
calque
7 ch
calquée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calque is \kalk\ while calquée is \kal.ke\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78956, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calque is recorded at frequency rank #32,328, classified as anoun, pronounced \kalk\. calquée is at rank #46,628, tagged as averb, pronounced \kal.ke\.

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 78956, this pair ranks #24,432 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calque vs calquée

Shared letters: acelqu. Private to "calque": -. Private to "calquée": é.

"calque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "calquée" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calqueaclque · callque · calqeu · calqque · caluqe · caqlue · ccalque

Frequency comparison

calque#32,328
calquée#46,628

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calque" and "calquée" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calque" is a noun and "calquée" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "calque" or "calquée"?
"calque" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,328 in our French list, against #46,628 for "calquée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calque vs calquée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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