Which to use
“frêle” is an adjective and “frite” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,505
- “frêle” frequency rank
- #23,558
- “frite” frequency rank
- 55063
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | frêle | frite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a peu de solidité, de résistance. | Pomme de terre coupée en bâtonnets et frite dans l’huile. |
Where the eye mixes frêle and frite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. frêle and frite follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: frêle vs frite
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: frêle is \fʁɛl\ while frite is \fʁit\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
frêle is recorded at frequency rank #31,505, classified as anadj, pronounced \fʁɛl\. frite is at rank #23,558, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fʁit\.
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 55063, this pair ranks #129,898 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of frêle vs frite
Shared letters: efr. Private to "frêle": lê. Private to "frite": it.
"frêle" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "frite" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- frite ← ffrite · firte · friet · fritte · frrite · frtie · rfite
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "frêle" and "frite" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "frêle" vs "frite" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "frêle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #129,898 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "frêle" and "frite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs frêle". 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 #129,898 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.