quellevsquelqueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#437
“quelle” frequency rank
#230
“quelque” frequency rank
667
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quelle quelque
Definition Féminin singulier de quel. Un parmi d’autres.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quelle and quelque apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
quelle
7 ch
quelque

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quelle (\kɛl\) and quelque (\kɛlk\) 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 667, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quelle is recorded at frequency rank #437, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɛl\. quelque is at rank #230, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɛlk\.

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 667, this pair ranks #439,309 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quelle vs quelque

Shared letters: elqu. Private to "quelle": -. Private to "quelque": -.

"quelle" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "quelque" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quelleqeulle · qquelle · quele · quelel · qulele · uqelle
  • quelqueqeulque · qquelque · quellque · quelqeu · quelqque · queluqe · queqlue · quleque

Frequency comparison

quelle#437
quelque#230

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quelle" and "quelque" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɛl\ versus \kɛlk\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quelle" or "quelque"?
"quelque" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #230 in our French list, against #437 for "quelle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quelle vs quelque

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 “quelle” 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