sévivssexeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sévi is a verb, sexe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sévi” is a verb and “sexe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,643
“sévi” frequency rank
#1,496
“sexe” frequency rank
44139
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sévi sexe
Definition Participe passé masculin singulier de sévir. Attribut utilisé pour classer un individu dans les espèces biologiques employant un mode de reproduction sexué.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sévi and sexe apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sévi
4 ch
sexe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sévi is \se.vi\ while sexe is \sɛks\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sévi is recorded at frequency rank #42,643, classified as averb, pronounced \se.vi\. sexe is at rank #1,496, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɛks\.

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 44139, this pair ranks #212,765 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sévi vs sexe

Shared letters: s. Private to "sévi": ivé. Private to "sexe": ex.

"sévi" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sexe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sexeesxe · seex · sexxe · ssexe · sxee

Frequency comparison

sévi#42,643
sexe#1,496

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sévi" and "sexe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sévi" is a verb and "sexe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sévi" or "sexe"?
"sexe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,496 in our French list, against #42,643 for "sévi". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sévi vs sexe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list