privilégiévsprivilégierWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: privilégié is a adjective, privilégier is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“privilégié” is an adjective and “privilégier” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,290
“privilégié” frequency rank
#10,554
“privilégier” frequency rank
18844
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature privilégié privilégier
Definition Qui a un privilège, qui jouit d’un privilège. Gratifier, doter d’un privilège, favoriser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set privilégié and privilégier apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
privilégié
11 ch
privilégier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: privilégié and privilégier carry the same recorded pronunciation, \pʁi.vi.le.ʒje\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

privilégié is recorded at frequency rank #8,290, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁi.vi.le.ʒje\. privilégier is at rank #10,554, tagged as averb, pronounced \pʁi.vi.le.ʒje\.

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 18844, this pair ranks #376,296 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of privilégié vs privilégier

Shared letters: gilprvé. Private to "privilégié": -. Private to "privilégier": e.

"privilégié" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCVV  ·  "privilégier" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

privilégié#8,290
privilégier#10,554

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "privilégié" and "privilégier" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "privilégié" is an adjective and "privilégier" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "privilégié" or "privilégier"?
"privilégié" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,290 in our French list, against #10,554 for "privilégier". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering privilégié vs privilégier

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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