Which to use
“irrégulier” is an adjective and “irrégulière” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,976
- “irrégulier” frequency rank
- #14,958
- “irrégulière” frequency rank
- 36934
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | irrégulier | irrégulière |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n’est pas selon les règles, qui ne suit pas les règles. | Femme qui n’a pas un statut juridique légal, du point de vue du séjour dans un pays, du point de vue professionnel. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set irrégulier and irrégulière apart are highlighted. They share 9 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: irrégulier is \i.ʁe.ɡy.lje\ while irrégulière is \i.ʁe.ɡy.ljɛʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36934, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
irrégulier is recorded at frequency rank #21,976, classified as anadj, pronounced \i.ʁe.ɡy.lje\. irrégulière is at rank #14,958, tagged as anoun, pronounced \i.ʁe.ɡy.ljɛʁ\.
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 36934, this pair ranks #266,092 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of irrégulier vs irrégulière
Shared letters: egilrué. Private to "irrégulier": -. Private to "irrégulière": è.
"irrégulier" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVC · "irrégulière" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "irrégulier" and "irrégulière" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "irrégulier" or "irrégulière"?
Remembering irrégulier vs irrégulière
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “irrégulier”; for a noun, it's “irrégulière”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “irrégulier” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable