Which to use
“énervée” is an adjective and “énerves” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,853
- “énervée” frequency rank
- #31,792
- “énerves” frequency rank
- 49645
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | énervée | énerves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de énervé. | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de énerver. |
Where the eye mixes énervée and énerves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. énervée (VCVCCVV) and énerves (VCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between énervée and énerves
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: énervée is \e.nɛʁ.ve\ while énerves is \e.nɛʁv\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49645, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
énervée is recorded at frequency rank #17,853, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.nɛʁ.ve\. énerves is at rank #31,792, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.nɛʁv\.
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 49645, this pair ranks #168,951 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of énervée vs énerves
Shared letters: enrvé. Private to "énervée": -. Private to "énerves": s.
"énervée" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVV · "énerves" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "énervée" for "énerves" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "énervée" or "énerves" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "énervée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "énerves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #168,951 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "énervée" and "énerves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "endives vs énerves". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #168,951 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.