souciervssoûlerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“soucier” and “soûler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,134
“soucier” frequency rank
#39,547
“soûler” frequency rank
50681
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature soucier soûler
Definition Causer de l’inquiétude, du souci à quelqu’un ; chagriner, préoccuper quelqu’un. Rassasier jusqu’à l’excès, gorger de vin, de viande.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set soucier and soûler apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
soucier
6 ch
soûler

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. soucier (\su.sje\) and soûler (\su.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

soucier is recorded at frequency rank #11,134, classified as averb, pronounced \su.sje\. soûler is at rank #39,547, tagged as averb, pronounced \su.le\.

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 50681, this pair ranks #160,750 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of soucier vs soûler

Shared letters: eors. Private to "soucier": ciu. Private to "soûler": .

"soucier" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC  ·  "soûler" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • soucierosucier · socuier · souccier · souceir · soucierr · soucire · souicer · ssoucier

Frequency comparison

soucier#11,134
soûler#39,547

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "soucier" and "soûler" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\su.sje\ versus \su.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "soucier" or "soûler"?
"soucier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,134 in our French list, against #39,547 for "soûler". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering soucier vs soûler

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “soucier” 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