Which to use
“idée” and “idole” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #354
- “idée” frequency rank
- #11,070
- “idole” frequency rank
- 11424
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | idée | idole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Suggestion. | Figure, statue représentant une divinité qui fait l'objet d'une adoration religieuse, précisément, une idolâtrie. |
Where the eye mixes idée and idole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses idée with idole
A purely visual mix-up. idée (\i.de\) and idole (\i.dɔl\) 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 11424, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
idée is recorded at frequency rank #354, classified as anoun, pronounced \i.de\. idole is at rank #11,070, tagged as anoun, pronounced \i.dɔl\.
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 11424, this pair ranks #409,203 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of idée vs idole
Shared letters: dei. Private to "idée": é. Private to "idole": lo.
"idée" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "idole" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- idole ← diole · iddole · idloe · idoel · idolle · iodle
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "idée" for "idole" ever safe?
Frequency check: "idée" vs "idole" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "idée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "idole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #409,203 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "idée" and "idole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "idole vs isola". 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 #409,203 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.