Which to use
“idole” and “isle” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,070
- “idole” frequency rank
- #11,988
- “isle” frequency rank
- 23058
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | idole | isle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Figure, statue représentant une divinité qui fait l'objet d'une adoration religieuse, précisément, une idolâtrie. | Île. |
Where the eye mixes idole and isle
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. idole runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against isle's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: idole vs isle
A purely visual mix-up. idole (\i.dɔl\) and isle (\il\) 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 23058, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
idole is recorded at frequency rank #11,070, classified as anoun, pronounced \i.dɔl\. isle is at rank #11,988, tagged as anoun, pronounced \il\.
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 23058, this pair ranks #354,607 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of idole vs isle
Shared letters: eil. Private to "idole": do. Private to "isle": s.
"idole" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "isle" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "idole" and "isle" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "idole" or "isle"?
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 "idole" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #354,607 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "idole" and "isle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "isi vs isle". 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 #354,607 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.