Which to use
“capitaine” and “capitaines” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,387
- “capitaine” frequency rank
- #17,647
- “capitaines” frequency rank
- 19034
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | capitaine | capitaines |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grade d’officier, le plus élevé en grade des officiers subalternes. Ce grade correspond à celui de lieutenant de vaisseau dans la Marine nationale française. Le code OTAN : OF-2. Dans la Marine nationale : Capitaine de corvette, de frégate, de vaisseau, officiers de marine dont les grades équivalent respectivement à ceux de commandant, lieutenant-colonel, colonel dans l'armée de terre. | Pluriel de capitaine. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set capitaine and capitaines apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. capitaine and capitaines are pronounced identically (\ka.pi.tɛn\) 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) - “capitaine” sits inside “capitaines”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
capitaine is recorded at frequency rank #1,387, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.pi.tɛn\. capitaines is at rank #17,647, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ka.pi.tɛn\.
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 19034, this pair ranks #375,360 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of capitaine vs capitaines
Shared letters: aceinpt. Private to "capitaine": -. Private to "capitaines": s.
"capitaine" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCV · "capitaines" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- capitaine ← acpitaine · caiptaine · capiatine · capitaien · capitainne · capitanie · capitiane · capittaine
- capitaines ← acpitaines · caiptaines · capiatines · capitaiens · capitainess · capitainnes · capitainse · capitanies
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "capitaine" and "capitaines" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "capitaine" or "capitaines"?
Remembering capitaine vs capitaines
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 “capitaine” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable