Which to use
“gré” and “grès” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,767
- “gré” frequency rank
- #12,976
- “grès” frequency rank
- 18743
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gré | grès |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Volonté, caprice, fantaisie. | Roche détritique formée par l’agglomération de nombreux petits grains unis par un ciment naturel de composition variable (siliceux, calcaire, etc.). |
Where the eye mixes gré and grès
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses gré with grès
A purely visual mix-up. gré (\ɡʁe\) and grès (\ɡʁɛ\) 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 18743, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gré is recorded at frequency rank #5,767, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁe\. grès is at rank #12,976, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡʁɛ\.
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 18743, this pair ranks #376,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gré vs grès
Shared letters: gr. Private to "gré": é. Private to "grès": sè.
"gré" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "grès" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "gré" and "grès" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "gré" or "grès" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gré" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "grès" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #376,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gré" and "grès" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grès vs grow". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #376,802 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.