Français homophones

plain/plains/plaint/plaints/plein/pleins

"plain" is an adjective; "plaint" is a verb - grammar picks the spelling, not sound. Size rank #20 of 9,139 French groups.

Data vintage 2026-05-06

Grammar picks the spelling

Same sound, different grammar: "plain" arrives as an adjective, while "plaint" is a verb. Once the sentence role is fixed, only one spelling fits.

Spelling pairs in this cluster

Shared stem "plain" then splits - "plain" (5 letters) vs "plains" (6).
Shared stem "plain" then splits - "plain" (5 letters) vs "plaint" (6).
Shared stem "plain" then splits - "plain" (5 letters) vs "plaints" (7).
Shared stem "pl" then splits - "plain" (5 letters) vs "plein" (5).
Shared stem "pl" then splits - "plain" (5 letters) vs "pleins" (6).
Single-letter fork: "plains" keeps s, "plaint" writes t at letter 6.
Shared stem "plain" then splits - "plains" (6 letters) vs "plaints" (7).
Shared stem "pl" then splits - "plains" (6 letters) vs "plein" (5).
Shared stem "pl" then splits - "plains" (6 letters) vs "pleins" (6).
Shared stem "plaint" then splits - "plaint" (6 letters) vs "plaints" (7).
Shared stem "pl" then splits - "plaint" (6 letters) vs "plein" (5).
Shared stem "pl" then splits - "plaint" (6 letters) vs "pleins" (6).
Shared stem "pl" then splits - "plaints" (7 letters) vs "plein" (5).
Shared stem "pl" then splits - "plaints" (7 letters) vs "pleins" (6).
Shared stem "plein" then splits - "plein" (5 letters) vs "pleins" (6).

Orthographic DNA of this cluster

Shared letters across plain, plains, plaint, plaints, plein, pleins: ilnp. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.

plain
5 letters · 2 vowels · shape CCVVC
Inventory ailnp · private a
plains
6 letters · 2 vowels · shape CCVVCC
Inventory ailnps · private as
plaint
6 letters · 2 vowels · shape CCVVCC
Inventory ailnpt · private at
plaints
7 letters · 2 vowels · shape CCVVCCC
Inventory ailnpst · private ast
plein
5 letters · 2 vowels · shape CCVVC
Inventory eilnp · private e
pleins
6 letters · 2 vowels · shape CCVVCC
Inventory eilnps · private es

Pick the spelling from the meaning

Write "plain" when you mean: Qui est uni, plat, sans inégalités.
Write "plains" when you mean: Masculin pluriel de plain.
Write "plaint" when you mean: Participe passé masculin singulier de plaindre.
Write "plaints" when you mean: Participe passé masculin pluriel de plaindre.
Write "plein" when you mean: Qui contient tout ce qu’il est capable de contenir ; il est opposé à vide.
Write "pleins" when you mean: Masculin pluriel de plein.

Known mistypes of these spellings

Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.

plain ← plainn · plani · plian · pllain · pplain
plains ← lpains · palins · plainns · plainss · plaisn · planis
plaint ← lpaint · palint · plainnt · plaintt · plaitn · planit
plaints ← lpaints · palints · plainnts · plainst · plaintss · plaintts
plein ← lpein · pelin · pleinn · pleni · plien · pllein
pleins ← lpeins · pelins · pleinns · pleinss · pleisn · plenis

Each spelling

plain

adjective · /\plɛ̃\/ · #17,230 frequency

Qui est uni, plat, sans inégalités.

plains

adjective · /\plɛ̃\/ · #9,721 frequency

Masculin pluriel de plain.

plaint

verb · /\plɛ̃\/ · #7,100 frequency

Participe passé masculin singulier de plaindre.

plaints

verb · /\plɛ̃\/ · #40,927 frequency

Participe passé masculin pluriel de plaindre.

plein

adjective · /\plɛ̃\/ · #468 frequency

Qui contient tout ce qu’il est capable de contenir ; il est opposé à vide.

pleins

adjective · /\plɛ̃\/ · #3,632 frequency

Masculin pluriel de plein.