Which to use
“première” and “prémisse” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #165
- “première” frequency rank
- #38,993
- “prémisse” frequency rank
- 39158
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | première | prémisse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom que l’on donne à la toute première représentation publique d’un spectacle, d’un film, d’une pièce de théâtre, etc, d'une opération chirurgicale, d'une ascension par une nouvelle voie, etc. | Chacune des deux propositions d’un syllogisme, la majeure et la mineure, d’où résulte la conclusion. |
Where the eye mixes première and prémisse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. première (CCVCVVCV) and prémisse (CCVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between première and prémisse
A purely visual mix-up. première (\pʁə.mjɛʁ\) and prémisse (\pʁe.mis\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39158, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
première is recorded at frequency rank #165, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁə.mjɛʁ\. prémisse is at rank #38,993, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁe.mis\.
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 39158, this pair ranks #250,059 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of première vs prémisse
Shared letters: eimpr. Private to "première": è. Private to "prémisse": sé.
"première" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVVCV · "prémisse" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "première" and "prémisse" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "première" vs "prémisse" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "première" and "prémisse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "première" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prémisse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #250,059 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "première" and "prémisse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "prémisse vs prémisses". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #250,059 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.