égoïsmevsexotismeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#18,098
“égoïsme” frequency rank
#30,151
“exotisme” frequency rank
48249
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature égoïsme exotisme
Definition Tendance a décider et agir en privilégiant son intérêt propre aux dépens de celui du reste du monde en général, ou d'autrui en particulier. Caractère de ce qui est exotique.

Where the eye mixes égoïsme and exotisme

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

7 ch
égoïsme
8 ch
exotisme

Look-alike desk: égoïsme vs exotisme

A purely visual mix-up. égoïsme (\e.ɡɔ.ism\) and exotisme (\ɛɡ.zɔ.tism\) 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 48249, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

égoïsme is recorded at frequency rank #18,098, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.ɡɔ.ism\. exotisme is at rank #30,151, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛɡ.zɔ.tism\.

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 48249, this pair ranks #180,425 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of égoïsme vs exotisme

Shared letters: emos. Private to "égoïsme": géï. Private to "exotisme": itx.

"égoïsme" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCCV  ·  "exotisme" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • exotismeeoxtisme · exoitsme · exotimse · exotisem · exotismme · exotissme · exotsime · exottisme

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "égoïsme" for "exotisme" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\e.ɡɔ.ism\ versus \ɛɡ.zɔ.tism\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "égoïsme" vs "exotisme" - which ranks higher?
"égoïsme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,098 in our French list, against #30,151 for "exotisme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "égoïsme" and "exotisme" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "égoïsme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "exotisme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #180,425 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "égoïsme" and "exotisme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exorcisme vs exotisme". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #180,425 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list