ultimevsutileWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,535
“ultime” frequency rank
#1,726
“utile” frequency rank
6261
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ultime utile
Definition Dernier, final, le plus éloigné possible. Qui est profitable ou avantageux ; qui sert à quelque chose.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
ultime
5 ch
utile

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ultime (\yl.tim\) and utile (\y.til\) 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 6261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ultime is recorded at frequency rank #4,535, classified as anadj, pronounced \yl.tim\. utile is at rank #1,726, tagged as anadj, pronounced \y.til\.

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 6261, this pair ranks #426,717 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ultime vs utile

Shared letters: eiltu. Private to "ultime": m. Private to "utile": -.

"ultime" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "utile" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ultimelutime · ulitme · ulltime · ultiem · ultimme · ultmie · ulttime · utlime
  • utileuitle · utiel · utille · utlie · uttile

Frequency comparison

ultime#4,535
utile#1,726

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ultime" and "utile" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\yl.tim\ versus \y.til\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ultime" or "utile"?
"utile" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,726 in our French list, against #4,535 for "ultime". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ultime vs utile

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 “ultime” 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