Which to use
“salé” is an adjective and “sample” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,405
- “salé” frequency rank
- #40,483
- “sample” frequency rank
- 50888
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | salé | sample |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui contient du sel. | Variante de semple. |
Where the eye mixes salé and sample
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses salé with sample
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: salé is \sa.le\ while sample is \sɑ̃pl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50888, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
salé is recorded at frequency rank #10,405, classified as anadj, pronounced \sa.le\. sample is at rank #40,483, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃pl\.
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 50888, this pair ranks #159,168 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of salé vs sample
Shared letters: als. Private to "salé": é. Private to "sample": emp.
"salé" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "sample" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sample ← asmple · samlpe · sammple · sampel · samplle · sampple · sapmle · smaple
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "salé" and "sample" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "salé" vs "sample" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "salé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sample" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #159,168 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "salé" and "sample" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sample vs samples". 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 #159,168 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.