Which to use
“candidate” and “candidates” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,283
- “candidate” frequency rank
- #18,951
- “candidates” frequency rank
- 26234
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | candidate | candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Celle qui se propose pour un poste, une récompense, etc. (quel que soit le statut de cette proposition). | Pluriel de candidate. |
Same sound, different letters: candidate vs candidates
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters. candidate runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against candidates's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - candidate / candidates
This is the hard kind. candidate and candidates are pronounced identically (\kɑ̃.di.dat\) 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) - “candidate” sits inside “candidates”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26234, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
candidate is recorded at frequency rank #7,283, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɑ̃.di.dat\. 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 26234, this pair ranks #336,309 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of candidate vs candidates
Shared letters: acdeint. Private to "candidate": -. Private to "candidates": s.
"candidate" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "candidates" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- candidate ← acndidate · cadnidate · canddiate · canddidate · candiadte · candidaet · candidatte · candiddate
- candidates ← acndidates · cadnidates · canddiates · canddidates · candiadtes · candidaets · candidatess · candidatse
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "candidate" and "candidates" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "candidate" vs "candidates" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "candidate" / "candidates". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "candidate" 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 #336,309 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "candidate" and "candidates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "candidate vs candide". 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 #336,309 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.