Which to use
“sauvages” and “savage” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,989
- “sauvages” frequency rank
- #27,620
- “savage” frequency rank
- 32609
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sauvages | savage |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de sauvage. | Sauvage. |
Where the eye mixes sauvages and savage
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sauvages and savage
A purely visual mix-up. sauvages (\so.vaʒ\) and savage (\ˈsæv.ɪdʒ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32609, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sauvages is recorded at frequency rank #4,989, classified as anadj, pronounced \so.vaʒ\. savage is at rank #27,620, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈsæv.ɪdʒ\.
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 32609, this pair ranks #296,163 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sauvages vs savage
Shared letters: aegsv. Private to "sauvages": u. Private to "savage": -.
"sauvages" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "savage" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sauvages" for "savage" ever safe?
Frequency check: "sauvages" vs "savage" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sauvages" and "savage" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sauvages" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "savage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,163 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sauvages" and "savage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "savage vs savanes". 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 #296,163 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.