Which to use
“fameuse” and “fameux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,346
- “fameuse” frequency rank
- #3,002
- “fameux” frequency rank
- 8348
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fameuse | fameux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de fameux. | Dont la réputation est très grande. |
Where the eye mixes fameuse and fameux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fameuse runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against fameux's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fameuse and fameux
A purely visual mix-up. fameuse (\fa.møz\) and fameux (\fa.mø\) 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 8348, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fameuse is recorded at frequency rank #5,346, classified as anadj, pronounced \fa.møz\. fameux is at rank #3,002, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fa.mø\.
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 8348, this pair ranks #420,326 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fameuse vs fameux
Shared letters: aefmu. Private to "fameuse": s. Private to "fameux": x.
"fameuse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "fameux" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fameuse" and "fameux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "fameuse" or "fameux" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fameuse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fameux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #420,326 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fameuse" and "fameux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fameuse vs fumeuse". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #420,326 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.