Which to use
“guère” is an adverb and “gueux” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,924
- “guère” frequency rank
- #23,881
- “gueux” frequency rank
- 27805
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | guère | gueux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Presque pas ; presque rien. | ou Qui est indigent, nécessiteux. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set guère and gueux apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: guère is \ɡɛʁ\ while gueux is \ɡø\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
guère is recorded at frequency rank #3,924, classified as anadv, pronounced \ɡɛʁ\. gueux is at rank #23,881, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɡø\.
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 27805, this pair ranks #326,651 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of guère vs gueux
Shared letters: egu. Private to "guère": rè. Private to "gueux": x.
"guère" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "gueux" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- gueux ← geuux · ggueux · gueuxx · guexu · guuex · ugeux
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "guère" and "gueux" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "guère" or "gueux"?
Remembering guère vs gueux
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “guère”; for an adjective, it's “gueux”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “guère” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable