Which to use
“neige” is a noun and “noie” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,290
- “neige” frequency rank
- #19,611
- “noie” frequency rank
- 21901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | neige | noie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forme de pluie cristalline se produisant lorsque la température descend en dessous de 0 °C, les gouttes d’eau s’étant transformées en flocons blancs et légers. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de noyer. |
Where the eye mixes neige and noie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. neige runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against noie's 4 (CVVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: neige vs noie
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: neige is \nɛʒ\ while noie is \nwa\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
neige is recorded at frequency rank #2,290, classified as anoun, pronounced \nɛʒ\. noie is at rank #19,611, tagged as averb, pronounced \nwa\.
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 21901, this pair ranks #360,844 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of neige vs noie
Shared letters: ein. Private to "neige": g. Private to "noie": o.
"neige" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "noie" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "neige" for "noie" ever safe?
Frequency check: "neige" vs "noie" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "neige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "noie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #360,844 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "neige" and "noie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "noie vs noués". 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 #360,844 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.