Which to use
“shape” and “soupe” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,044
- “shape” frequency rank
- #4,893
- “soupe” frequency rank
- 42937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shape | soupe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forme. | Pain que l’on trempe dans le potage. |
Where the eye mixes shape and soupe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: shape vs soupe
A purely visual mix-up. shape (\ʃɛjp\) and soupe (\sup\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shape is recorded at frequency rank #38,044, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛjp\. soupe is at rank #4,893, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sup\.
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 42937, this pair ranks #221,794 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of shape vs soupe
Shared letters: eps. Private to "shape": ah. Private to "soupe": ou.
"shape" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "soupe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shape" and "soupe" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "shape" or "soupe"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "shape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "soupe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,794 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shape" and "soupe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shape vs stase". 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 #221,794 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.