Which to use
“maigre” and “maigret” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,733
- “maigre” frequency rank
- #44,036
- “maigret” frequency rank
- 52769
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maigre | maigret |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui contient peu ou pas de graisse ou de liant. | Un peu trop maigre, chétif, maigrichon. |
Where the eye mixes maigre and maigret
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. maigre runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against maigret's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses maigre with maigret
A purely visual mix-up. maigre (\mɛɡʁ\) and maigret (\mɛ.ɡʁɛ\) 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) - “maigre” sits inside “maigret”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maigre is recorded at frequency rank #8,733, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɛɡʁ\. maigret is at rank #44,036, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɛ.ɡʁɛ\.
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 52769, this pair ranks #145,429 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maigre vs maigret
Shared letters: aegimr. Private to "maigre": -. Private to "maigret": t.
"maigre" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "maigret" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "maigre" and "maigret" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "maigre" or "maigret"?
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 "maigre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maigret" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,429 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maigre" and "maigret" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "magret vs maigret". 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 #145,429 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.