propresvsprouvésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,206
“propres” frequency rank
#46,969
“prouvés” frequency rank
48175
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature propres prouvés
Definition Pluriel de l’adjectif propre. Masculin pluriel de prouvé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set propres and prouvés apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
propres
7 ch
prouvés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. propres (\pʁɔpʁ\) and prouvés (\pʁu.ve\) 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 48175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

propres is recorded at frequency rank #1,206, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁɔpʁ\. prouvés is at rank #46,969, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁu.ve\.

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 48175, this pair ranks #181,033 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of propres vs prouvés

Shared letters: oprs. Private to "propres": e. Private to "prouvés": uvé.

"propres" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "prouvés" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • propresporpres · ppropres · propers · proppres · propress · proprres · proprse · prorpes

Frequency comparison

propres#1,206
prouvés#46,969

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "propres" and "prouvés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pʁɔpʁ\ versus \pʁu.ve\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "propres" or "prouvés"?
"propres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,206 in our French list, against #46,969 for "prouvés". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering propres vs prouvés

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 “propres” 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