Which to use
“énigme” is a noun and “érigée” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,087
- “énigme” frequency rank
- #20,899
- “érigée” frequency rank
- 32986
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | énigme | érigée |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Participe passé féminin singulier de ériger. |
Where the eye mixes énigme and érigée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. énigme (VCVCCV) and érigée (VCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: énigme vs érigée
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: énigme is \e.niɡm\ while érigée is \e.ʁi.ʒe\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32986, 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\. érigée is at rank #20,899, tagged as averb, pronounced \e.ʁi.ʒe\.
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 32986, this pair ranks #293,617 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of énigme vs érigée
Shared letters: egié. Private to "énigme": mn. Private to "érigée": r.
"énigme" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "érigée" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "énigme" and "érigée" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "énigme" or "érigée" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "énigme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "érigée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #293,617 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "énigme" and "érigée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "érigée vs exigez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #293,617 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.