Which to use
“figue” is a noun and “figuré” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,844
- “figue” frequency rank
- #16,364
- “figuré” frequency rank
- 53208
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | figue | figuré |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faux-fruit comestible du figuier, issu de l’inflorescence contenant des akènes qui sont les fruits proprement dits, contenus dans une pulpe molle et sucrée. | Fait selon une certaine figure. |
Where the eye mixes figue and figuré
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. figue runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against figuré's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses figue with figuré
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: figue is \fiɡ\ while figuré is \fi.ɡy.ʁe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53208, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
figue is recorded at frequency rank #36,844, classified as anoun, pronounced \fiɡ\. figuré is at rank #16,364, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fi.ɡy.ʁe\.
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 53208, this pair ranks #142,355 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of figue vs figuré
Shared letters: fgiu. Private to "figue": e. Private to "figuré": ré.
"figue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "figuré" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- figue ← ffigue · fgiue · figeu · figgue · fiuge · ifgue
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "figue" and "figuré" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "figue" or "figuré" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "figue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "figuré" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #142,355 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "figue" and "figuré" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "figées vs figue". 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 #142,355 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.