Which to use
“bactérie” and “bactéries” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,079
- “bactérie” frequency rank
- #8,811
- “bactéries” frequency rank
- 25890
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bactérie | bactéries |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Micro-organisme unicellulaire et sans noyau compartimenté ni organites. | Pluriel de bactérie. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bactérie and bactéries apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. bactérie and bactéries are pronounced identically (\bak.te.ʁi\) 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) - “bactérie” sits inside “bactéries”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bactérie is recorded at frequency rank #17,079, classified as anoun, pronounced \bak.te.ʁi\. bactéries is at rank #8,811, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bak.te.ʁi\.
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 25890, this pair ranks #338,293 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bactérie vs bactéries
Shared letters: abceirté. Private to "bactérie": -. Private to "bactéries": s.
"bactérie" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV · "bactéries" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bactérie" and "bactéries" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bactérie" or "bactéries"?
Remembering bactérie vs bactéries
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 “bactérie” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable