‘Fiancé' vs 'Fiancée': What's the Difference?

Is the man or woman you’re marrying your ‘fiancé’ or your ‘fiancée’? If you’re struggling with which spelling to use, we can help clear things up for you. We can also teach you how to use the correct word in a sentence correctly. 

But if you’d rather have a quick answer, here it is:

In France, ‘fiancé’ refers to an engaged man.

‘Fiancée’ refers to an engaged woman.

‘Fiancé’ vs. ‘Fiancée’ – What’s the Difference?

As you just learned, there is a difference between ‘fiancé’ and ‘fiancée.’ The extra ‘e’ implies that you’re talking about a woman.

‘Fiancé’ vs. ‘Fiancée’ – Which One is Which?

Now you know that ‘‘fiancé’ refers to a man and ‘fiancée’ refers to a man. Therefore, you shouldn’t use the terms interchangeably.

Definition and Meaning of ‘Fiancé’ 

The Merriam-Webster definition of the word is: “a man engaged to be married.”

Definition and Meaning of ‘Fiancée’

The Merriam-Webster definition of this word is: “a woman engaged to be married.”

Synonyms of both words include:

• Betrothed
• Fiancé/fiancée
• Intended

A Brief History 

Both words are borrowed from the French language, and the first known use of the words was in 1835. They meant the same thing they do today.

Using ‘Fiancé’ in a Sentence 

Now that we’ve defined both words let’s see some examples of how to use the words in a sentence correctly.

Here are some examples of how to use ‘fiancé’:

• My fiancé lost his contact lens on his trip to Mexico.
• I can’t believe I’m getting married. That’s my fiancé.
• My fiancé totaled his car last week.
• I didn't want to tell my fiancé about my student loan debt, but I had to.

Using ‘Fiancée’ in a Sentence 

Now let’s see how to use ‘fiancée’:

• You’re his fiancée now, but soon you’ll be a Mrs.
• Would your fiancée be willing to get married out of state?
• I’m so grateful my fiancée is so generous.
• My fiancée and I are going to Paris for our pre-wedding trip.

Final Thoughts on ‘Fiancé’ and ‘Fiancée’

To recap, ‘fiancé’ refers to an engaged man, and ‘fiancée’ refers to an engaged female. It might be confusing to remember which is which.

Try to remember that the letter ‘e’ is often feminine. And there are two of them at the end of the female version of the word.