denréevsdonnéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,348
“denrée” frequency rank
#2,514
“donnée” frequency rank
38862
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature denrée donnée
Definition Tout ce qui se vend pour la nourriture des hommes ou des animaux. Information sur un sujet particulier, qui, avec d’autres données, sert de base à la réflexion ou l'étude de ce sujet.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set denrée and donnée apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
denrée
6 ch
donnée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. denrée (\dɑ̃.ʁe\) and donnée (\dɔ.ne\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38862, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

denrée is recorded at frequency rank #36,348, classified as anoun, pronounced \dɑ̃.ʁe\. donnée is at rank #2,514, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɔ.ne\.

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 38862, this pair ranks #252,280 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of denrée vs donnée

Shared letters: dené. Private to "denrée": r. Private to "donnée": o.

"denrée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "donnée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

denrée#36,348
donnée#2,514

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "denrée" and "donnée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dɑ̃.ʁe\ versus \dɔ.ne\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "denrée" or "donnée"?
"donnée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,514 in our French list, against #36,348 for "denrée". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering denrée vs donnée

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 “denrée” 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