variée vs variées, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#17,587
“variée” frequency rank: #9,409
“variées” frequency rank: 26996
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	variée	variées
Definition	Féminin singulier de varié.	Féminin pluriel de varié.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set variée and variées apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

variée

7 ch

variées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. variée and variées are pronounced identically (\va.ʁje\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “variée” sits inside “variées”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26996, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

variée is recorded at frequency rank #17,587, classified as anadj, pronounced \va.ʁje\. variées is at rank #9,409, tagged as anadj, pronounced \va.ʁje\.

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 26996, this pair ranks #331,625 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of variée vs variées

Shared letters: aeirvé. Private to "variée": -. Private to "variées": s.

"variée" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV · "variées" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC

Frequency comparison

variée#17,587

variées#9,409

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "variée" and "variées" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\va.ʁje\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Which is more common, "variée" or "variées"?

"variées" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,409 in our French list, against #17,587 for "variée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering variée vs variées

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 “variée” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable