Which to use
“promesse” and “prouesse” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,636
- “promesse” frequency rank
- #29,090
- “prouesse” frequency rank
- 32726
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | promesse | prouesse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de promettre ; ou résultat de cette action. | Action de preux, vaillance. |
Where the eye mixes promesse and prouesse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. promesse (CCVCVCCV) and prouesse (CCVVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses promesse with prouesse
A purely visual mix-up. promesse (\pʁɔ.mɛs\) and prouesse (\pʁu.ɛs\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - m in “promesse” becomes u in “prouesse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
promesse is recorded at frequency rank #3,636, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.mɛs\. prouesse is at rank #29,090, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁu.ɛs\.
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 32726, this pair ranks #295,345 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of promesse vs prouesse
Shared letters: eoprs. Private to "promesse": m. Private to "prouesse": u.
"promesse" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV · "prouesse" · 8 letters · shape CCVVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "promesse" and "prouesse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "promesse" vs "prouesse" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "promesse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prouesse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,345 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "promesse" and "prouesse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "protesté vs prouesse". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #295,345 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.