Which to use
“forêt” and “forge” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,078
- “forêt” frequency rank
- #13,389
- “forge” frequency rank
- 15467
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | forêt | forge |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vaste terrain couvert de bois, de nombreux arbres proches. | Usine dans laquelle la fonte de fer est transformée en métal. |
Where the eye mixes forêt and forge
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: forêt vs forge
A purely visual mix-up. forêt (\fɔ.ʁɛ\) and forge (\fɔʁʒ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
forêt is recorded at frequency rank #2,078, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔ.ʁɛ\. forge is at rank #13,389, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔʁʒ\.
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 15467, this pair ranks #392,244 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of forêt vs forge
Shared letters: for. Private to "forêt": tê. Private to "forge": eg.
"forêt" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "forge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- forge ← fforge · fogre · foreg · forgge · forrge · froge · ofrge
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "forêt" for "forge" ever safe?
Which is more common, "forêt" or "forge"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "forêt" and "forge" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "forêt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "forge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #392,244 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "forêt" and "forge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fange vs forge". 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 #392,244 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.