programmevsprogrammerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: programme is a noun, programmer is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“programme” is a noun and “programmer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#560
“programme” frequency rank
#16,707
“programmer” frequency rank
17267
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature programme programmer
Definition Écrit donnant le détail d’un événement ou d'une succession d'événements. Mettre dans un programme.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
programme
10 ch
programmer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

programme and programmer form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “programme” sits inside “programmer” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

programme is recorded at frequency rank #560, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.ɡʁam\. programmer is at rank #16,707, tagged as averb, pronounced \pʁɔ.ɡʁa.me\.

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 17267, this pair ranks #384,001 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

programme#560
programmer#16,707

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "programme" and "programmer" be used interchangeably?
No, "programme" and "programmer" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering programme vs programmer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “programme”; for a verb, it's “programmer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “programme” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list