Which to use
“grand” is an adjective and “grandir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #136
- “grand” frequency rank
- #6,302
- “grandir” frequency rank
- 6438
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grand | grandir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | De dimensions (hauteur/taille, longueur, profondeur, etc.) importantes, qui dépassent celles de ses semblables, ou de longue durée. Par exemple, de volume supérieur à la moyenne (ou normale) des individus de même espèce et sexe et d’âge similaire. | Devenir plus grand. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set grand and grandir apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
grand and grandir form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “grand” sits inside “grandir” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grand is recorded at frequency rank #136, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɡʁɑ̃\. grandir is at rank #6,302, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɡʁɑ̃.diʁ\.
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 6438, this pair ranks #426,215 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "grand" and "grandir" be used interchangeably?
Remembering grand vs grandir
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “grand”; for a verb, it's “grandir”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “grand” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable