graduéevsgravéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,294
“graduée” frequency rank
#17,439
“gravée” frequency rank
57733
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graduée gravée
Definition Féminin singulier de gradué. Féminin singulier de gravé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set graduée and gravée apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
graduée
6 ch
gravée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. graduée (\ɡʁa.dɥe\) and gravée (\ɡʁa.ve\) 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 57733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

graduée is recorded at frequency rank #40,294, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɡʁa.dɥe\. gravée is at rank #17,439, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɡʁa.ve\.

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 57733, this pair ranks #113,284 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of graduée vs gravée

Shared letters: aegré. Private to "graduée": du. Private to "gravée": v.

"graduée" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVV  ·  "gravée" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Frequency comparison

graduée#40,294
gravée#17,439

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "graduée" and "gravée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɡʁa.dɥe\ versus \ɡʁa.ve\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "graduée" or "gravée"?
"gravée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,439 in our French list, against #40,294 for "graduée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering graduée vs gravée

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 “graduée” 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