enviesvsenvoyésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“envies” and “envoyés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,652
“envies” frequency rank
#5,656
“envoyés” frequency rank
15308
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature envies envoyés
Definition Pluriel de envie. Pluriel de envoyé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set envies and envoyés apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
envies
7 ch
envoyés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. envies (\ɑ̃.vi\) and envoyés (\ɑ̃.vwa.je\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

envies is recorded at frequency rank #9,652, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.vi\. envoyés is at rank #5,656, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.vwa.je\.

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 15308, this pair ranks #392,919 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of envies vs envoyés

Shared letters: ensv. Private to "envies": i. Private to "envoyés": oyé.

"envies" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC  ·  "envoyés" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enviesenives · ennvies · enveis · enviess · envise · envvies · evnies · nevies

Frequency comparison

envies#9,652
envoyés#5,656

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "envies" and "envoyés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɑ̃.vi\ versus \ɑ̃.vwa.je\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "envies" or "envoyés"?
"envoyés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,656 in our French list, against #9,652 for "envies". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering envies vs envoyés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “envies” 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