Which to use
“fraîche” is an adjective and “fraîcheur” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,397
- “fraîche” frequency rank
- #10,163
- “fraîcheur” frequency rank
- 16560
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fraîche | fraîcheur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de frais. | Froid doux et modéré. |
Where the eye mixes fraîche and fraîcheur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. fraîche runs 7 letters (CCVVCCV) against fraîcheur's 9 (CCVVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fraîche with fraîcheur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fraîche is \fʁɛʃ\ while fraîcheur is \fʁɛ.ʃœʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fraîche” sits inside “fraîcheur”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fraîche is recorded at frequency rank #6,397, classified as anadj, pronounced \fʁɛʃ\. fraîcheur is at rank #10,163, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fʁɛ.ʃœʁ\.
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 16560, this pair ranks #387,272 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fraîche vs fraîcheur
Shared letters: acefhrî. Private to "fraîche": -. Private to "fraîcheur": u.
"fraîche" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV · "fraîcheur" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fraîche" for "fraîcheur" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fraîche" or "fraîcheur"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fraîche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fraîcheur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #387,272 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fraîche" and "fraîcheur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fauche vs fraîche". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #387,272 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.