Which to use
“masque” is a noun and “masquer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,938
- “masque” frequency rank
- #13,210
- “masquer” frequency rank
- 17148
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | masque | masquer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faux visage de carton ou d’autre matière, dont on se couvre la figure pour se déguiser, pour accomplir un rituel, dissimuler son identité ou bien par jeu. | Mettre un masque à quelqu’un. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set masque and masquer apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
masque and masquer form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “masque” sits inside “masquer” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
masque is recorded at frequency rank #3,938, classified as anoun, pronounced \mask\. masquer is at rank #13,210, tagged as averb, pronounced \mas.ke\.
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 17148, this pair ranks #384,572 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "masque" and "masquer" be used interchangeably?
Remembering masque vs masquer
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “masque”; for a verb, it's “masquer”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “masque” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable