cuillèrevscuilleréeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,026
“cuillère” frequency rank
#49,014
“cuillerée” frequency rank
60040
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuillère cuillerée
Definition Ustensile de table formé d’un manche et d’un cuilleron dont on se sert ordinairement pour manger le potage et d’autres aliments liquides ou de peu de consistance. Ce que contient une cuillère.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cuillère and cuillerée apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
cuillère
9 ch
cuillerée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cuillère (\kɥi.jɛʁ\) and cuillerée (\kɥij.ʁe\) 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 60040, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cuillère is recorded at frequency rank #11,026, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɥi.jɛʁ\. cuillerée is at rank #49,014, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɥij.ʁe\.

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 60040, this pair ranks #99,803 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cuillère vs cuillerée

Shared letters: ceilru. Private to "cuillère": è. Private to "cuillerée": é.

"cuillère" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV  ·  "cuillerée" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVV

Frequency comparison

cuillère#11,026
cuillerée#49,014

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cuillère" and "cuillerée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɥi.jɛʁ\ versus \kɥij.ʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cuillère" or "cuillerée"?
"cuillère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,026 in our French list, against #49,014 for "cuillerée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cuillère vs cuillerée

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 “cuillère” 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