triervstrouerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,528
“trier” frequency rank
#45,362
“trouer” frequency rank
60890
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trier trouer
Definition Séparer ce que l'on souhaite garder et ce que l'on souhaite jeter. Percer, faire un trou.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
trier
6 ch
trouer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. trier (\tʁi.je\) and trouer (\tʁu.e\) 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 60890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trier is recorded at frequency rank #15,528, classified as averb, pronounced \tʁi.je\. trouer is at rank #45,362, tagged as averb, pronounced \tʁu.e\.

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 60890, this pair ranks #95,239 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of trier vs trouer

Shared letters: ert. Private to "trier": i. Private to "trouer": ou.

"trier" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "trouer" · 6 letters · shape CCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trierrtier · treir · trierr · trire · trrier · ttrier
  • trouerrtouer · toruer · troeur · trouerr · troure · trrouer · truoer · ttrouer

Frequency comparison

trier#15,528
trouer#45,362

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "trier" and "trouer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\tʁi.je\ versus \tʁu.e\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "trier" or "trouer"?
"trier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,528 in our French list, against #45,362 for "trouer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering trier vs trouer

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 “trier” 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