Which to use
“apostrophe” and “apostrophes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,808
- “apostrophe” frequency rank
- #48,916
- “apostrophes” frequency rank
- 84724
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apostrophe | apostrophes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Interpellation brusque, souvent pour un propos dénigrant, un reproche ou une pure insulte ou injure. | Pluriel de apostrophe. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set apostrophe and apostrophes apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. apostrophe and apostrophes are pronounced identically (\a.pɔs.tʁɔf\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “apostrophe” sits inside “apostrophes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
apostrophe is recorded at frequency rank #35,808, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.pɔs.tʁɔf\. apostrophes is at rank #48,916, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.pɔs.tʁɔf\.
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 84724, this pair ranks #12,474 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of apostrophe vs apostrophes
Shared letters: aehoprst. Private to "apostrophe": -. Private to "apostrophes": -.
"apostrophe" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCV · "apostrophes" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- apostrophe ← aopstrophe · aposrtophe · aposstrophe · apostorphe · apostrohpe · apostropeh · apostrophhe · apostropphe
- apostrophes ← aopstrophes · aposrtophes · aposstrophes · apostorphes · apostrohpes · apostropehs · apostrophess · apostrophhes
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "apostrophe" and "apostrophes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "apostrophe" or "apostrophes"?
Remembering apostrophe vs apostrophes
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 “apostrophe” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable