amèresvsamplesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,151
“amères” frequency rank
#20,042
“amples” frequency rank
59193
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature amères amples
Definition Féminin pluriel de amer. Pluriel de ample.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
amères
6 ch
amples

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. amères (\a.mɛʁ\) and amples (\ɑ̃pl\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

amères is recorded at frequency rank #39,151, classified as anadj, pronounced \a.mɛʁ\. amples is at rank #20,042, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɑ̃pl\.

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 59193, this pair ranks #104,545 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of amères vs amples

Shared letters: aems. Private to "amères": . Private to "amples": lp.

"amères" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "amples" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • amplesamlpes · ammples · ampels · ampless · amplles · amplse · ampples · apmles

Frequency comparison

amères#39,151
amples#20,042

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "amères" and "amples" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\a.mɛʁ\ versus \ɑ̃pl\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "amères" or "amples"?
"amples" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,042 in our French list, against #39,151 for "amères". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering amères vs amples

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 “amères” 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