Which to use
“filaire” is an adjective and “filtre” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,764
- “filaire” frequency rank
- #6,298
- “filtre” frequency rank
- 47062
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filaire | filtre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui concerne les fils. | Corps poreux (feutre, papier, charbon, etc.) au travers duquel on fait passer une substance liquide, gazeuse ou corpusculaire (la lumière, le courant électrique), pour la clarifier, l’épurer ou en séparer certains éléments. |
Where the eye mixes filaire and filtre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. filaire runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against filtre's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between filaire and filtre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: filaire is \fi.lɛʁ\ while filtre is \filtʁ\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
filaire is recorded at frequency rank #40,764, classified as anadj, pronounced \fi.lɛʁ\. filtre is at rank #6,298, tagged as anoun, pronounced \filtʁ\.
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 47062, this pair ranks #189,941 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of filaire vs filtre
Shared letters: efilr. Private to "filaire": a. Private to "filtre": t.
"filaire" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "filtre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "filaire" for "filtre" ever safe?
Frequency check: "filaire" vs "filtre" - which ranks higher?
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 "filaire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "filtre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #189,941 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filaire" and "filtre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filaire vs filante". 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 #189,941 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.