Which to use
“maîtrisée” is an adjective and “maîtriser” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,798
- “maîtrisée” frequency rank
- #7,341
- “maîtriser” frequency rank
- 34139
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maîtrisée | maîtriser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de maîtrisé. | Avoir ou prendre la maîtrise de quelqu’un, de quelque chose, le gouverner en maître, avec une autorité absolue. |
Where the eye mixes maîtrisée and maîtriser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. maîtrisée (CVVCCVCVV) and maîtriser (CVVCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: maîtrisée vs maîtriser
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maîtrisée is \mɛ.tʁi.ze\ while maîtriser is \me.tʁi.ze\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maîtrisée is recorded at frequency rank #26,798, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɛ.tʁi.ze\. maîtriser is at rank #7,341, tagged as averb, pronounced \me.tʁi.ze\.
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 34139, this pair ranks #285,882 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maîtrisée vs maîtriser
Shared letters: aeimrstî. Private to "maîtrisée": é. Private to "maîtriser": -.
"maîtrisée" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVV · "maîtriser" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maîtrisée" for "maîtriser" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "maîtrisée" or "maîtriser" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "maîtrisée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maîtriser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #285,882 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maîtrisée" and "maîtriser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maîtrisée vs maîtrisez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #285,882 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.