Which to use
“sign” is a noun and “signée” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,257
- “sign” frequency rank
- #6,242
- “signée” frequency rank
- 37499
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sign | signée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Panneau (routier, de rue) ; panonceau ; pancarte (sur un mur, une vitrine, etc.) ; affiche (publicitaire), écriteau (handmade sign). | Féminin singulier de signé. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sign and signée 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: sign is \saɪn\ while signée is \si.ɲe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “sign” sits inside “signée”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37499, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sign is recorded at frequency rank #31,257, classified as anoun, pronounced \saɪn\. signée is at rank #6,242, tagged as anadj, pronounced \si.ɲe\.
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 37499, this pair ranks #262,091 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sign vs signée
Shared letters: gins. Private to "sign": -. Private to "signée": eé.
"sign" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "signée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sign ← isgn · sgin · siggn · signn · ssign
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sign" and "signée" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sign" or "signée"?
Remembering sign vs signée
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sign”; for an adjective, it's “signée”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sign” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable