partielvspartielleWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#6,537
“partiel” frequency rank
#6,538
“partielle” frequency rank
13075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature partiel partielle
Definition Qui n’est qu’une partie d’un tout. Épreuve intermédiaire pour obtenir un diplôme.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set partiel and partielle apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
partiel
9 ch
partielle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: partiel and partielle carry the same recorded pronunciation, \paʁ.sjɛl\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “partiel” sits inside “partielle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

partiel is recorded at frequency rank #6,537, classified as anadj, pronounced \paʁ.sjɛl\. partielle is at rank #6,538, tagged as anoun, pronounced \paʁ.sjɛl\.

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 13075, this pair ranks #402,526 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of partiel vs partielle

Shared letters: aeilprt. Private to "partiel": -. Private to "partielle": -.

"partiel" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "partielle" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • partielaprtiel · paritel · parrtiel · parteil · partiell · partile · parttiel · patriel
  • partielleaprtielle · paritelle · parrtielle · parteille · partiele · partielel · partilele · parttielle

Frequency comparison

partiel#6,537
partielle#6,538

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "partiel" and "partielle" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "partiel" is an adjective and "partielle" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "partiel" or "partielle"?
"partiel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,537 in our French list, against #6,538 for "partielle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering partiel vs partielle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “partiel”; for a noun, it's “partielle”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “partiel” 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