opposévsopposéeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: opposé is a adjective, opposée is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“opposé” is an adjective and “opposée” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,478
“opposé” frequency rank
#9,524
“opposée” frequency rank
13002
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature opposé opposée
Definition Qui est contraire, de différente nature. Celle qui est opposée, contraire, ou à l’opposé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set opposé and opposée apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
opposé
7 ch
opposée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: opposé and opposée carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ɔ.pɔ.ze\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “opposé” sits inside “opposée”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13002, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

opposé is recorded at frequency rank #3,478, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɔ.pɔ.ze\. opposée is at rank #9,524, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɔ.pɔ.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 13002, this pair ranks #402,842 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of opposé vs opposée

Shared letters: opsé. Private to "opposé": -. Private to "opposée": e.

"opposé" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "opposée" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Frequency comparison

opposé#3,478
opposée#9,524

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "opposé" and "opposée" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "opposé" is an adjective and "opposée" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "opposé" or "opposée"?
"opposé" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,478 in our French list, against #9,524 for "opposée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering opposé vs opposée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “opposé”; for a noun, it's “opposée”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “opposé” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list