Which to use
“salir” and “savoir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,007
- “salir” frequency rank
- #251
- “savoir” frequency rank
- 16258
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | salir | savoir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rendre sale. | Appréhender par l’esprit ou la connaissance ; connaître de façon certaine. |
Where the eye mixes salir and savoir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. salir runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against savoir's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses salir with savoir
A purely visual mix-up. salir (\sa.liʁ\) and savoir (\sa.vwaʁ\) 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 16258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
salir is recorded at frequency rank #16,007, classified as averb, pronounced \sa.liʁ\. savoir is at rank #251, tagged as averb, pronounced \sa.vwaʁ\.
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 16258, this pair ranks #388,666 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of salir vs savoir
Shared letters: airs. Private to "salir": l. Private to "savoir": ov.
"salir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "savoir" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "salir" for "savoir" ever safe?
Frequency check: "salir" vs "savoir" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "salir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "savoir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #388,666 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "salir" and "savoir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "salir vs soli". 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 #388,666 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.