confèrevsconfrérieWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#11,938
“confère” frequency rank
#11,937
“confrérie” frequency rank
23875
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature confère confrérie
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de conférer. Compagnie de personnes associées pour quelque objet.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
confère
9 ch
confrérie

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: confère is \kɔ̃.fɛʁ\ while confrérie is \kɔ̃.fʁe.ʁi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23875, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

confère is recorded at frequency rank #11,938, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.fɛʁ\. confrérie is at rank #11,937, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.fʁe.ʁi\.

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 23875, this pair ranks #349,938 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of confère vs confrérie

Shared letters: cefnor. Private to "confère": è. Private to "confrérie": .

"confère" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "confrérie" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVV

Frequency comparison

confère#11,938
confrérie#11,937

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "confère" and "confrérie" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "confère" is a verb and "confrérie" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "confère" or "confrérie"?
"confrérie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,937 in our French list, against #11,938 for "confère". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering confère vs confrérie

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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