glivsgrilWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gli is a article, gril is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gli” is an article and “gril” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,104
“gli” frequency rank
#39,326
“gril” frequency rank
73430
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gli gril
Definition Masculin pluriel de lo. Ustensile de cuisine qui est fait de plusieurs lames de fer parallèles, fixées à quelque distance l’une de l’autre, et sur lequel on fait rôtir de la viande ou du poisson. Toute surface pour la cuisson vive des aliments sans corps gras.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gli and gril apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
gli
4 ch
gril

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gli is \ʎi\ while gril is \ɡʁil\. 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 (article vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gli is recorded at frequency rank #34,104, classified as anarticle, pronounced \ʎi\. gril is at rank #39,326, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁil\.

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 73430, this pair ranks #40,498 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gli vs gril

Shared letters: gil. Private to "gli": -. Private to "gril": r.

"gli" · 3 letters · shape CCV  ·  "gril" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grilggril · grli · grril · rgil

Frequency comparison

gli#34,104
gril#39,326

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gli" and "gril" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gli" is an article and "gril" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gli" or "gril"?
"gli" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,104 in our French list, against #39,326 for "gril". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gli vs gril

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an article, it's “gli”; for a noun, it's “gril”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gli” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list