Which to use
“énerver” and “énerves” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,619
- “énerver” frequency rank
- #31,792
- “énerves” frequency rank
- 42411
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | énerver | énerves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agacer en produisant une irritation nerveuse. | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de énerver. |
Where the eye mixes énerver and énerves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between énerver and énerves
A purely visual mix-up. énerver (\e.nɛʁ.ve\) and énerves (\e.nɛʁv\) 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 a single letter - r in “énerver” becomes s in “énerves”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42411, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
énerver is recorded at frequency rank #10,619, classified as averb, 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 42411, this pair ranks #225,803 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of énerver vs énerves
Shared letters: enrvé. Private to "énerver": -. Private to "énerves": s.
"énerver" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "énerves" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "énerver" for "énerves" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "énerver" or "énerves" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "énerver" 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 #225,803 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "énerver" and "énerves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "endives vs énerves". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #225,803 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.