Which to use
“foudre” and “fougue” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,830
- “foudre” frequency rank
- #23,218
- “fougue” frequency rank
- 31048
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foudre | fougue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Décharge électrique, par temps d’orage, entre des nuages et certaines fois entre des nuages et le sol, qui produit une vive lumière (dite éclair) et une violente détonation (dont le son est dit tonnerre). On dit, comme sur la photo, que la foudre est tombée quand elle a touché le sol ou quelque chose en relief sur le sol ou connecté au sol: arbre, construction, etc., a été touché. | Ardeur naturelle ; grande impétuosité. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set foudre and fougue apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. foudre (\fudʁ\) and fougue (\fuɡ\) 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 31048, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foudre is recorded at frequency rank #7,830, classified as anoun, pronounced \fudʁ\. fougue is at rank #23,218, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fuɡ\.
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 31048, this pair ranks #306,320 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of foudre vs fougue
Shared letters: efou. Private to "foudre": dr. Private to "fougue": g.
"foudre" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "fougue" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "foudre" and "fougue" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "foudre" or "fougue"?
Remembering foudre vs fougue
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “foudre” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable