Which to use
“ennui” is a noun and “ennuie” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,686
- “ennui” frequency rank
- #6,819
- “ennuie” frequency rank
- 14505
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ennui | ennuie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lassitude, langueur temporaire causée par une occupation dépourvue d’intérêt, monotone, déplaisante ou trop prolongée, ou par le désœuvrement. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de ennuyer. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ennui and ennuie apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
ennui and ennuie form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ennui” sits inside “ennuie” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ennui is recorded at frequency rank #7,686, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.nɥi\. ennuie is at rank #6,819, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɑ̃.nɥi\.
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 14505, this pair ranks #396,366 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ennui" and "ennuie" be used interchangeably?
Remembering ennui vs ennuie
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ennui”; for a verb, it's “ennuie”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ennui” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable