Which to use
“bâtiment” and “bâtiments” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,729
- “bâtiment” frequency rank
- #2,762
- “bâtiments” frequency rank
- 4491
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bâtiment | bâtiments |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Construction close faite pour loger des hommes ou des animaux, ou pour abriter des denrées, des récoltes, pour servir à des industries, à des services publics, etc. | Pluriel de bâtiment. |
Where the eye mixes bâtiment and bâtiments
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bâtiment runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCC) against bâtiments's 9 (CVCVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bâtiment with bâtiments
A purely visual mix-up. bâtiment (\bɑ.ti.mɑ̃\) and bâtiments (\ba.ti.mɑ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “bâtiment” sits inside “bâtiments”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bâtiment is recorded at frequency rank #1,729, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɑ.ti.mɑ̃\. bâtiments is at rank #2,762, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ba.ti.mɑ̃\.
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 4491, this pair ranks #431,469 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bâtiment vs bâtiments
Shared letters: beimntâ. Private to "bâtiment": -. Private to "bâtiments": s.
"bâtiment" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "bâtiments" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bâtiment" for "bâtiments" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bâtiment" or "bâtiments"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bâtiment" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bâtiments" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #431,469 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bâtiment" and "bâtiments" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baisent vs bâtiment". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #431,469 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.