abcèsvsacesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,675
“abcès” frequency rank
#43,246
“aces” frequency rank
70921
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abcès aces
Definition Poche de pus dans une cavité formée aux dépens des tissus environnants. Pluriel de ace.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abcès and aces apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
abcès
4 ch
aces

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. abcès (\ap.sɛ\) and aces (\ɛs\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70921, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abcès is recorded at frequency rank #27,675, classified as anoun, pronounced \ap.sɛ\. aces is at rank #43,246, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛs\.

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 70921, this pair ranks #49,476 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abcès vs aces

Shared letters: acs. Private to "abcès": . Private to "aces": e.

"abcès" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "aces" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Frequency comparison

abcès#27,675
aces#43,246

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abcès" and "aces" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ap.sɛ\ versus \ɛs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abcès" or "aces"?
"abcès" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,675 in our French list, against #43,246 for "aces". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abcès vs aces

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 “abcès” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list