gradésvsgraduelConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#32,835
“gradés” frequency rank
#43,963
“graduel” frequency rank
76798
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gradés graduel
Definition Masculin pluriel de gradé. Qui va par degrés.

Where the eye mixes gradés and graduel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. gradés runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against graduel's 7 (CCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
gradés
7 ch
graduel

Visual trap between gradés and graduel

A purely visual mix-up. gradés (\ɡʁa.de\) and graduel (\ɡʁad.ɥɛl\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76798, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gradés is recorded at frequency rank #32,835, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɡʁa.de\. graduel is at rank #43,963, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɡʁad.ɥɛl\.

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 76798, this pair ranks #30,128 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gradés vs graduel

Shared letters: adgr. Private to "gradés": sé. Private to "graduel": elu.

"gradés" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "graduel" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • graduel ← garduel · ggraduel · gradduel · gradeul · graduell · gradule · graudel · grdauel

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gradés" for "graduel" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\ɡʁa.de\ versus \ɡʁad.ɥɛl\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gradés" vs "graduel" - which ranks higher?
"gradés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,835 in our French list, against #43,963 for "graduel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gradés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "graduel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #30,128 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gradés" and "graduel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gradué vs graduel". 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 #30,128 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list