Which to use
“énigme” and “enzyme” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,087
- “énigme” frequency rank
- #27,428
- “enzyme” frequency rank
- 39515
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | énigme | enzyme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Jeu d’esprit mettant à l’épreuve la réflexion de l’interlocuteur qui doit répondre à une interrogation dont le sens est caché sous une parabole ou une métaphore. | Molécule biologique, généralement une protéine (parfois un ARN, appelé ribozyme), qui catalyse une réaction biochimique spécifique, transformant un ou plusieurs substrats en un ou plusieurs produits. |
Where the eye mixes énigme and enzyme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: énigme vs enzyme
A purely visual mix-up. énigme (\e.niɡm\) and enzyme (\ɑ̃.zim\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39515, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
énigme is recorded at frequency rank #12,087, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.niɡm\. enzyme is at rank #27,428, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.zim\.
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 39515, this pair ranks #247,373 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of énigme vs enzyme
Shared letters: emn. Private to "énigme": gié. Private to "enzyme": yz.
"énigme" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "enzyme" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- enzyme ← ennzyme · enyzme · enzmye · enzyem · enzymme · enzyyme · enzzyme · eznyme
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "énigme" and "enzyme" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "énigme" or "enzyme"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "énigme" and "enzyme" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "énigme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "enzyme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #247,373 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "énigme" and "enzyme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enzyme vs enzymes". 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 #247,373 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.