promessevsprouessesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“promesse” and “prouesses” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,636
“promesse” frequency rank
#25,088
“prouesses” frequency rank
28724
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature promesse prouesses
Definition Action de promettre ; ou résultat de cette action. Pluriel de prouesse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
promesse
9 ch
prouesses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. promesse (\pʁɔ.mɛs\) and prouesses (\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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28724, 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\. prouesses is at rank #25,088, 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 28724, this pair ranks #321,083 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of promesse vs prouesses

Shared letters: eoprs. Private to "promesse": m. Private to "prouesses": u.

"promesse" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV  ·  "prouesses" · 9 letters · shape CCVVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • promessepormesse · ppromesse · prmoesse · proemsse · promese · promeses · prommesse · promsese
  • prouessesporuesses · pprouesses · proeusses · proueses · prouesess · prouessess · prouessse · prouseses

Frequency comparison

promesse#3,636
prouesses#25,088

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "promesse" and "prouesses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pʁɔ.mɛs\ versus \pʁu.ɛs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "promesse" or "prouesses"?
"promesse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,636 in our French list, against #25,088 for "prouesses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering promesse vs prouesses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “promesse” 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