élèvevsélueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,796
“élève” frequency rank
#6,453
“élue” frequency rank
8249
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature élève élue
Definition Personne qui reçoit ou qui a reçu l'enseignement de quelqu'un autre. Femme élue.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set élève and élue apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
élève
4 ch
élue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. élève (\e.lɛv\) and élue (\e.ly\) 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 8249, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

élève is recorded at frequency rank #1,796, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.lɛv\. élue is at rank #6,453, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.ly\.

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 8249, this pair ranks #420,672 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of élève vs élue

Shared letters: elé. Private to "élève": . Private to "élue": u.

"élève" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "élue" · 4 letters · shape VCVV

Frequency comparison

élève#1,796
élue#6,453

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "élève" and "élue" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\e.lɛv\ versus \e.ly\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "élève" or "élue"?
"élève" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,796 in our French list, against #6,453 for "élue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering élève vs élue

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 “élève” 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