Which to use
“fondé” is an adjective and “fondées” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,259
- “fondé” frequency rank
- #12,970
- “fondées” frequency rank
- 16229
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fondé | fondées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Justifié, qui s’appuie sur des faits. | Participe passé féminin pluriel de fonder. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fondé and fondées apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: fondé and fondées carry the same recorded pronunciation, \fɔ̃.de\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fondé” sits inside “fondées”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16229, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fondé is recorded at frequency rank #3,259, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɔ̃.de\. fondées is at rank #12,970, tagged as averb, pronounced \fɔ̃.de\.
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 16229, this pair ranks #388,794 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fondé vs fondées
Shared letters: dfnoé. Private to "fondé": -. Private to "fondées": es.
"fondé" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "fondées" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fondé" and "fondées" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fondé" or "fondées"?
Remembering fondé vs fondées
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “fondé”; for a verb, it's “fondées”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fondé” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable