Which to use
“opérer” and “opter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,861
- “opérer” frequency rank
- #15,952
- “opter” frequency rank
- 22813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | opérer | opter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Accomplir une œuvre ; produire un effet ; agir. | Choisir entre deux ou plusieurs choses qu’on ne peut avoir ensemble, entre deux ou plusieurs partis pour l’un desquels il faut se déterminer. |
Where the eye mixes opérer and opter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: opérer vs opter
A purely visual mix-up. opérer (\ɔ.pe.ʁe\) and opter (\ɔp.te\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
opérer is recorded at frequency rank #6,861, classified as averb, pronounced \ɔ.pe.ʁe\. opter is at rank #15,952, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɔp.te\.
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 22813, this pair ranks #356,035 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of opérer vs opter
Shared letters: eopr. Private to "opérer": é. Private to "opter": t.
"opérer" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "opter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- opter ← opetr · oppter · opterr · optre · otper
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "opérer" for "opter" ever safe?
Which is more common, "opérer" or "opter"?
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 "opérer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "opter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #356,035 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "opérer" and "opter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "opt vs opter". 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 #356,035 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.