Which to use
“language” and “langue” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,424
- “language” frequency rank
- #629
- “langue” frequency rank
- 16053
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | language | langue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Langue. | Organe musculaire charnu et mobile, situé à l’intérieur de la bouche, et permettant de percevoir le sens du goût et d’articuler certains sons. |
Where the eye mixes language and langue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: language vs langue
A purely visual mix-up. language (\ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ\) and langue (\lɑ̃ɡ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
language is recorded at frequency rank #15,424, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ\. langue is at rank #629, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃ɡ\.
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 16053, this pair ranks #389,605 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of language vs langue
Shared letters: aeglnu. Private to "language": -. Private to "langue": -.
"language" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "langue" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "language" and "langue" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "language" or "langue"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "language" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "langue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #389,605 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "language" and "langue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "language vs largage". 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 #389,605 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.