Which to use
“féminine” and “féminisme” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,674
- “féminine” frequency rank
- #9,845
- “féminisme” frequency rank
- 14519
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | féminine | féminisme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sportive (par opposition aux hommes). | Mouvement revendicatif ayant pour objet la reconnaissance ou l’extension des droits des femmes dans la société jusqu’à leur pleine libération de la domination masculine. |
Where the eye mixes féminine and féminisme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. féminine runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against féminisme's 9 (CVCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses féminine with féminisme
A purely visual mix-up. féminine (\fe.mi.nin\) and féminisme (\fe.mi.nism\) 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 14519, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
féminine is recorded at frequency rank #4,674, classified as anoun, pronounced \fe.mi.nin\. féminisme is at rank #9,845, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fe.mi.nism\.
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 14519, this pair ranks #396,317 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of féminine vs féminisme
Shared letters: efimné. Private to "féminine": -. Private to "féminisme": s.
"féminine" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "féminisme" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "féminine" for "féminisme" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "féminine" or "féminisme" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "féminine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "féminisme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,317 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "féminine" and "féminisme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "féminisme vs féminité". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #396,317 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.