découvertvsdécouverteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: découvert is a adjective, découverte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“découvert” is an adjective and “découverte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,590
“découvert” frequency rank
#1,560
“découverte” frequency rank
3150
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature découvert découverte
Definition Qui n’est pas couvert. Action de découvrir, de trouver ce qui n’était pas connu, invention.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set découvert and découverte apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
découvert
10 ch
découverte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: découvert is \de.ku.vɛʁ\ while découverte is \de.ku.vɛʁt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “découvert” sits inside “découverte”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3150, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

découvert is recorded at frequency rank #1,590, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.ku.vɛʁ\. découverte is at rank #1,560, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ku.vɛʁt\.

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 3150, this pair ranks #434,675 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of découvert vs découverte

Shared letters: cdeortuvé. Private to "découvert": -. Private to "découverte": -.

"découvert" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCC  ·  "découverte" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

découvert#1,590
découverte#1,560

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "découvert" and "découverte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "découvert" is an adjective and "découverte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "découvert" or "découverte"?
"découverte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,560 in our French list, against #1,590 for "découvert". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering découvert vs découverte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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