Which to use
“candidat” and “candidates” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,386
- “candidat” frequency rank
- #18,951
- “candidates” frequency rank
- 20337
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | candidat | candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Postulant à un titre, à une place, à une fonction. | Pluriel de candidate. |
Where the eye mixes candidat and candidates
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses candidat with candidates
A purely visual mix-up. candidat (\kɑ̃.di.da\) and candidates (\kɑ̃.di.dat\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “candidat” sits inside “candidates”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
candidat is recorded at frequency rank #1,386, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɑ̃.di.da\. candidates is at rank #18,951, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɑ̃.di.dat\.
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 20337, this pair ranks #368,786 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of candidat vs candidates
Shared letters: acdint. Private to "candidat": -. Private to "candidates": es.
"candidat" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "candidates" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- candidat ← acndidat · cadnidat · canddiat · canddidat · candiadt · candidatt · candiddat · candidta
- candidates ← acndidates · cadnidates · canddiates · canddidates · candiadtes · candidaets · candidatess · candidatse
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "candidat" and "candidates" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "candidat" or "candidates"?
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 "candidat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "candidates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #368,786 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "candidat" and "candidates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "candidates vs candidatures". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #368,786 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.