bilatéralvsbilatérauxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,893
“bilatéral” frequency rank
#31,849
“bilatéraux” frequency rank
66742
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bilatéral bilatéraux
Definition Qui a deux côtés symétriques. Masculin pluriel de bilatéral.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bilatéral and bilatéraux apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
bilatéral
10 ch
bilatéraux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bilatéral (\bi.la.te.ʁal\) and bilatéraux (\bi.la.te.ʁo\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66742, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bilatéral is recorded at frequency rank #34,893, classified as anadj, pronounced \bi.la.te.ʁal\. bilatéraux is at rank #31,849, tagged as anadj, pronounced \bi.la.te.ʁo\.

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 66742, this pair ranks #66,459 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of bilatéral vs bilatéraux

Shared letters: abilrté. Private to "bilatéral": -. Private to "bilatéraux": ux.

"bilatéral" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC  ·  "bilatéraux" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

bilatéral#34,893
bilatéraux#31,849

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bilatéral" and "bilatéraux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\bi.la.te.ʁal\ versus \bi.la.te.ʁo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bilatéral" or "bilatéraux"?
"bilatéraux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,849 in our French list, against #34,893 for "bilatéral". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bilatéral vs bilatéraux

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 “bilatéral” 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