risquées vs risqués, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#40,472
“risquées” frequency rank: #37,533
“risqués” frequency rank: 78005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	risquées	risqués
Definition	Féminin pluriel de risqué.	Masculin pluriel de risqué.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch

risquées

7 ch

risqués

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. risquées and risqués are pronounced identically (\ʁis.ke\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

risquées is recorded at frequency rank #40,472, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁis.ke\. risqués is at rank #37,533, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁis.ke\.

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 78005, this pair ranks #26,875 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of risquées vs risqués

Shared letters: iqrsué. Private to "risquées": e. Private to "risqués": -.

"risquées" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC · "risqués" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Frequency comparison

risquées#40,472

risqués#37,533

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "risquées" and "risqués" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\ʁis.ke\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Which is more common, "risquées" or "risqués"?

"risqués" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,533 in our French list, against #40,472 for "risquées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering risquées vs risqués

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 “risquées” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable