figurévsfigureraWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: figuré is a adjective, figurera is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“figuré” is an adjective and “figurera” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,364
“figuré” frequency rank
#37,334
“figurera” frequency rank
53698
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature figuré figurera
Definition Fait selon une certaine figure. Troisième personne du singulier du futur de figurer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set figuré and figurera apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
figuré
8 ch
figurera

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: figuré is \fi.ɡy.ʁe\ while figurera is \fi.ɡy.ʁə.ʁa\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

figuré is recorded at frequency rank #16,364, classified as anadj, pronounced \fi.ɡy.ʁe\. figurera is at rank #37,334, tagged as averb, pronounced \fi.ɡy.ʁə.ʁa\.

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 53698, this pair ranks #139,000 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of figuré vs figurera

Shared letters: fgiru. Private to "figuré": é. Private to "figurera": ae.

"figuré" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "figurera" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • figureraffigurera · fgiurera · figgurera · figruera · figuerra · figurear · figurerra · figurrea

Frequency comparison

figuré#16,364
figurera#37,334

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "figuré" and "figurera" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "figuré" is an adjective and "figurera" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "figuré" or "figurera"?
"figuré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,364 in our French list, against #37,334 for "figurera". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering figuré vs figurera

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “figuré”; for a verb, it's “figurera”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “figuré” 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