Which to use
“toucher” and “tourner” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,152
- “toucher” frequency rank
- #1,758
- “tourner” frequency rank
- 3910
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | toucher | tourner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mettre la main sur quelque chose. | Mouvoir en rond, par un mouvement circulaire ou en ligne courbe, autour d’un axe de rotation. |
Where the eye mixes toucher and tourner
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: toucher vs tourner
A purely visual mix-up. toucher (\tu.ʃe\) and tourner (\tuʁ.ne\) 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 3910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
toucher is recorded at frequency rank #2,152, classified as averb, pronounced \tu.ʃe\. tourner is at rank #1,758, tagged as averb, pronounced \tuʁ.ne\.
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 3910, this pair ranks #432,911 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of toucher vs tourner
Shared letters: eortu. Private to "toucher": ch. Private to "tourner": n.
"toucher" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "tourner" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "toucher" for "tourner" ever safe?
Which is more common, "toucher" or "tourner"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "toucher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tourner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #432,911 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "toucher" and "tourner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tourner vs tourte". 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 #432,911 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.