débutevsdébutéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,188
“débute” frequency rank
#41,237
“débutée” frequency rank
47425
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature débute débutée
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de débuter. Participe passé féminin singulier de débuter.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
débute
7 ch
débutée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. débute (\de.byt\) and débutée (\de.by.te\) 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 47425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

débute is recorded at frequency rank #6,188, classified as averb, pronounced \de.byt\. débutée is at rank #41,237, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.by.te\.

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 47425, this pair ranks #187,061 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of débute vs débutée

Shared letters: bdetué. Private to "débute": -. Private to "débutée": -.

"débute" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "débutée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

débute#6,188
débutée#41,237

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "débute" and "débutée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.byt\ versus \de.by.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "débute" or "débutée"?
"débute" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,188 in our French list, against #41,237 for "débutée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering débute vs débutée

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 “débute” 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