Which to use
“énigmes” is a noun and “exigées” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,617
- “énigmes” frequency rank
- #29,768
- “exigées” frequency rank
- 50385
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | énigmes | exigées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de énigme. | Participe passé féminin pluriel de exiger. |
Where the eye mixes énigmes and exigées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. énigmes (VCVCCVC) and exigées (VCVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between énigmes and exigées
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: énigmes is \e.niɡm\ while exigées is \ɛɡ.zi.ʒe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 50385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
énigmes is recorded at frequency rank #20,617, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.niɡm\. exigées is at rank #29,768, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.zi.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 50385, this pair ranks #163,055 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of énigmes vs exigées
Shared letters: egisé. Private to "énigmes": mn. Private to "exigées": x.
"énigmes" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "exigées" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "énigmes" and "exigées" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "énigmes" vs "exigées" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "énigmes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exigées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #163,055 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "énigmes" and "exigées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exigées vs exigez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #163,055 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.