enferméesvsenfermerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: enfermées is a adjective, enfermer is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“enfermées” is an adjective and “enfermer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,246
“enfermées” frequency rank
#9,651
“enfermer” frequency rank
49897
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enfermées enfermer
Definition Féminin pluriel de enfermé. Mettre quelqu’un ou quelque chose dans un lieu fermé de tous côtés.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enfermées and enfermer apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
enfermées
8 ch
enfermer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: enfermées and enfermer carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ɑ̃.fɛʁ.me\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enfermées is recorded at frequency rank #40,246, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɑ̃.fɛʁ.me\. enfermer is at rank #9,651, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.fɛʁ.me\.

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 49897, this pair ranks #167,013 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of enfermées vs enfermer

Shared letters: efmnr. Private to "enfermées": . Private to "enfermer": -.

"enfermées" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVVC  ·  "enfermer" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enfermerefnermer · enefrmer · enfemrer · enferemr · enfermerr · enfermmer · enfermre · enferrmer

Frequency comparison

enfermées#40,246
enfermer#9,651

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enfermées" and "enfermer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "enfermées" is an adjective and "enfermer" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "enfermées" or "enfermer"?
"enfermer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,651 in our French list, against #40,246 for "enfermées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering enfermées vs enfermer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “enfermées”; for a verb, it's “enfermer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “enfermées” 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