gourmandevsgourmandiseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“gourmande” and “gourmandise” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#23,567
“gourmande” frequency rank
#25,668
“gourmandise” frequency rank
49235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gourmande gourmandise
Definition Femme gourmande. Défaut de celui qui est gourmand, qui mange plus que de raison.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gourmande and gourmandise apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
gourmande
11 ch
gourmandise

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gourmande (\ɡuʁ.mɑ̃d\) and gourmandise (\ɡuʁ.mɑ̃.diz\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gourmande is recorded at frequency rank #23,567, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡuʁ.mɑ̃d\. gourmandise is at rank #25,668, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡuʁ.mɑ̃.diz\.

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 49235, this pair ranks #172,294 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gourmande vs gourmandise

Shared letters: adegmnoru. Private to "gourmande": -. Private to "gourmandise": is.

"gourmande" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCCV  ·  "gourmandise" · 11 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gourmandeggourmande · gorumande · goumrande · gouramnde · gourmadne · gourmandde · gourmaned · gourmannde
  • gourmandiseggourmandise · gorumandise · goumrandise · gouramndise · gourmadnise · gourmanddise · gourmandies · gourmandisse

Frequency comparison

gourmande#23,567
gourmandise#25,668

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gourmande" and "gourmandise" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɡuʁ.mɑ̃d\ versus \ɡuʁ.mɑ̃.diz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gourmande" or "gourmandise"?
"gourmande" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,567 in our French list, against #25,668 for "gourmandise". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gourmande vs gourmandise

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 “gourmande” 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