installevsinstallerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“installe” and “installer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,255
“installe” frequency rank
#2,520
“installer” frequency rank
7775
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature installe installer
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de installer. Mettre solennellement en possession d’une place, d’un emploi, d’une dignité.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set installe and installer apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
installe
9 ch
installer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. installe (\ɛ̃s.tal\) and installer (\ɛ̃s.ta.le\) 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 extra letter(s) - “installe” sits inside “installer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7775, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

installe is recorded at frequency rank #5,255, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃s.tal\. installer is at rank #2,520, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃s.ta.le\.

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 7775, this pair ranks #422,165 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of installe vs installer

Shared letters: aeilnst. Private to "installe": -. Private to "installer": r.

"installe" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "installer" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • installeinnstalle · insatlle · insstalle · instale · instalel · instlale · insttalle · intsalle
  • installerinnstaller · insatller · insstaller · instalelr · instaler · installerr · installre · instlaler

Frequency comparison

installe#5,255
installer#2,520

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "installe" and "installer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃s.tal\ versus \ɛ̃s.ta.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "installe" or "installer"?
"installer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,520 in our French list, against #5,255 for "installe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering installe vs installer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “installe” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list