Which to use
“génie” is a noun and “gentil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,081
- “génie” frequency rank
- #2,280
- “gentil” frequency rank
- 4361
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | génie | gentil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Esprit ou démon qui, selon les Romains, présidait à certains lieux, à des villes, etc. | Agréable, charmant, mignon, aimable. Qui a une certaine grâce, un certain agrément délicat. |
Where the eye mixes génie and gentil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. génie runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against gentil's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: génie vs gentil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: génie is \ʒe.ni\ while gentil is \ʒɑ̃.ti\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
génie is recorded at frequency rank #2,081, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʒe.ni\. gentil is at rank #2,280, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʒɑ̃.ti\.
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 4361, this pair ranks #431,804 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of génie vs gentil
Shared letters: egin. Private to "génie": é. Private to "gentil": lt.
"génie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "gentil" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gentil ← egntil · genitl · genntil · gentill · gentli · genttil · getnil · ggentil
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "génie" for "gentil" ever safe?
Which is more common, "génie" or "gentil"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "génie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gentil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #431,804 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "génie" and "gentil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "génie vs génique". 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 #431,804 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.