articlesvsartistesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#864
“articles” frequency rank
#1,504
“artistes” frequency rank
2368
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature articles artistes
Definition Pluriel de article. Pluriel de artiste.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set articles and artistes apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
articles
8 ch
artistes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. articles (\aʁ.tikl\) and artistes (\aʁ.tist\) 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 2368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

articles is recorded at frequency rank #864, classified as anoun, pronounced \aʁ.tikl\. artistes is at rank #1,504, tagged as anoun, pronounced \aʁ.tist\.

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 2368, this pair ranks #436,268 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of articles vs artistes

Shared letters: aeirst. Private to "articles": cl. Private to "artistes": -.

"articles" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "artistes" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • articlesaritcles · arrticles · artciles · articcles · articels · articless · articlles · articlse
  • artistesaritstes · arrtistes · artisets · artisstes · artistess · artistse · artisttes · artitses

Frequency comparison

articles#864
artistes#1,504

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "articles" and "artistes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\aʁ.tikl\ versus \aʁ.tist\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "articles" or "artistes"?
"articles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #864 in our French list, against #1,504 for "artistes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering articles vs artistes

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 “articles” 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