verbesvsvergesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,935
“verbes” frequency rank
#28,012
“verges” frequency rank
41947
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature verbes verges
Definition Pluriel de verbe. Pluriel de verge.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set verbes and verges apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
verbes
6 ch
verges

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. verbes (\vɛʁb\) and verges (\vɛʁʒ\) 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 a single letter - b in “verbes” becomes g in “verges”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

verbes is recorded at frequency rank #13,935, classified as anoun, pronounced \vɛʁb\. verges is at rank #28,012, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vɛʁʒ\.

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 41947, this pair ranks #229,359 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of verbes vs verges

Shared letters: ersv. Private to "verbes": b. Private to "verges": g.

"verbes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "verges" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • verbesevrbes · vebres · verbbes · verbess · verbse · verebs · verrbes · vrebes
  • vergesevrges · vegres · veregs · vergess · vergges · vergse · verrges · vreges

Frequency comparison

verbes#13,935
verges#28,012

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "verbes" and "verges" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\vɛʁb\ versus \vɛʁʒ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "verbes" or "verges"?
"verbes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,935 in our French list, against #28,012 for "verges". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering verbes vs verges

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 “verbes” 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