exagèrevsexigéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,875
“exagère” frequency rank
#23,206
“exigée” frequency rank
40081
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature exagère exigée
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de exagérer. Participe passé féminin singulier de exiger.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
exagère
6 ch
exigée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. exagère (\ɛɡ.za.ʒɛʁ\) and exigée (\ɛɡ.zi.ʒe\) 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 40081, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

exagère is recorded at frequency rank #16,875, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.za.ʒɛʁ\. exigée is at rank #23,206, 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 40081, this pair ranks #243,189 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of exagère vs exigée

Shared letters: egx. Private to "exagère": arè. Private to "exigée": .

"exagère" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV  ·  "exigée" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV

Frequency comparison

exagère#16,875
exigée#23,206

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "exagère" and "exigée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛɡ.za.ʒɛʁ\ versus \ɛɡ.zi.ʒe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "exagère" or "exigée"?
"exagère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,875 in our French list, against #23,206 for "exigée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering exagère vs exigée

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 “exagère” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list