Which to use
“ondulé” is an adjective and “ordure” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,832
- “ondulé” frequency rank
- #16,690
- “ordure” frequency rank
- 66522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ondulé | ordure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dont la surface présente ou semble présenter des ondulations. | Tout ce qui est malpropre, immondice, crasse. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ondulé and ordure apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ondulé is \ɔ̃.dy.le\ while ordure is \ɔʁ.dyʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ondulé is recorded at frequency rank #49,832, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɔ̃.dy.le\. ordure is at rank #16,690, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɔʁ.dyʁ\.
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 66522, this pair ranks #67,462 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ondulé vs ordure
Shared letters: dou. Private to "ondulé": lné. Private to "ordure": er.
"ondulé" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "ordure" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ordure ← odrure · orddure · ordrue · orduer · ordurre · orrdure · orudre · rodure
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ondulé" and "ordure" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ondulé" or "ordure"?
Remembering ondulé vs ordure
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “ondulé”; for a noun, it's “ordure”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ondulé” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable