4e vs quatrièmes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“4e” and “quatrièmes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,157
“4e” frequency rank: #49,304
“quatrièmes” frequency rank: 55461
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	4e	quatrièmes
Definition	Quatrième.	Pluriel de quatrième.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set 4e and quatrièmes apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch

10 ch

quatrièmes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. 4e and quatrièmes are pronounced identically (\ka.tʁi.jɛm\) 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 8 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55461, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

4e is recorded at frequency rank #6,157, classified as anadj, pronounced \ka.tʁi.jɛm\. quatrièmes is at rank #49,304, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ka.tʁi.jɛm\.

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 55461, this pair ranks #127,293 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of 4e vs quatrièmes

Shared letters: e. Private to "4e": -. Private to "quatrièmes": aimqrstuè.

"4e" · 1 letters · shape V · "quatrièmes" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

4e#6,157

quatrièmes#49,304

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "4e" and "quatrièmes" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\ka.tʁi.jɛm\), 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, "4e" or "quatrièmes"?

"4e" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,157 in our French list, against #49,304 for "quatrièmes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering 4e vs quatrièmes

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 “4e” entry
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