Which to use
“sévères” is an adjective and “severus” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,250
- “sévères” frequency rank
- #49,941
- “severus” frequency rank
- 60191
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sévères | severus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de sévère. | Poisson de la famille des cichlidés, originaire d’Amérique du Sud. Son nom scientifique est Heros severus. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sévères and severus apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sévères is \se.vɛʁ\ while severus is \se.ve.ʁys\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60191, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sévères is recorded at frequency rank #10,250, classified as anadj, pronounced \se.vɛʁ\. severus is at rank #49,941, tagged as anoun, pronounced \se.ve.ʁys\.
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 60191, this pair ranks #98,976 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sévères vs severus
Shared letters: ersv. Private to "sévères": èé. Private to "severus": u.
"sévères" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "severus" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- severus ← esverus · seevrus · severrus · seversu · severuss · seveurs · sevreus · sevverus
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sévères" and "severus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sévères" or "severus"?
Remembering sévères vs severus
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “sévères”; for a noun, it's “severus”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sévères” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable