séché vs séchée, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“séché” is an adjective and “séchée” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,835
“séché” frequency rank: #30,390
“séchée” frequency rank: 48225
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	séché	séchée
Definition	Qui résulte d’un séchage.	Action de faire sécher.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

séché

6 ch

séchée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: séché and séchée carry the same recorded pronunciation, \se.ʃe\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “séché” sits inside “séchée”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

séché is recorded at frequency rank #17,835, classified as anadj, pronounced \se.ʃe\. séchée is at rank #30,390, tagged as anoun, pronounced \se.ʃe\.

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 48225, this pair ranks #180,645 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of séché vs séchée

Shared letters: chsé. Private to "séché": -. Private to "séchée": e.

"séché" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "séchée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

séché#17,835

séchée#30,390

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "séché" and "séchée" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "séché" is an adjective and "séchée" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "séché" or "séchée"?

"séché" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,835 in our French list, against #30,390 for "séchée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering séché vs séchée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “séché”; for a noun, it's “séchée”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “séché” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable