bactériennevsbactériennesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,238
“bactérienne” frequency rank
#42,759
“bactériennes” frequency rank
71997
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bactérienne bactériennes
Definition Féminin singulier de bactérien. Féminin pluriel de bactérien.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bactérienne and bactériennes apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
bactérienne
12 ch
bactériennes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. bactérienne and bactériennes are pronounced identically (\bak.te.ʁjɛn\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “bactérienne” sits inside “bactériennes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71997, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bactérienne is recorded at frequency rank #29,238, classified as anadj, pronounced \bak.te.ʁjɛn\. bactériennes is at rank #42,759, tagged as anadj, pronounced \bak.te.ʁjɛn\.

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 71997, this pair ranks #45,561 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bactérienne vs bactériennes

Shared letters: abceinrté. Private to "bactérienne": -. Private to "bactériennes": s.

"bactérienne" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCCV  ·  "bactériennes" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCCVC

Frequency comparison

bactérienne#29,238
bactériennes#42,759

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bactérienne" and "bactériennes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\bak.te.ʁjɛn\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "bactérienne" or "bactériennes"?
"bactérienne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,238 in our French list, against #42,759 for "bactériennes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bactérienne vs bactériennes

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 “bactérienne” 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