capitalvscapitauxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,652
“capital” frequency rank
#6,472
“capitaux” frequency rank
8124
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capital capitaux
Definition Qui est principal. Masculin pluriel de capital.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set capital and capitaux apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
capital
8 ch
capitaux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. capital (\ka.pi.tal\) and capitaux (\ka.pi.to\) 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 8124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capital is recorded at frequency rank #1,652, classified as anadj, pronounced \ka.pi.tal\. capitaux is at rank #6,472, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ka.pi.to\.

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 8124, this pair ranks #421,031 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of capital vs capitaux

Shared letters: acipt. Private to "capital": l. Private to "capitaux": ux.

"capital" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "capitaux" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • capitalacpital · caiptal · capiatl · capitall · capitla · capittal · cappital · captial
  • capitauxacpitaux · caiptaux · capiatux · capitauxx · capitaxu · capittaux · capituax · cappitaux

Frequency comparison

capital#1,652
capitaux#6,472

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capital" and "capitaux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ka.pi.tal\ versus \ka.pi.to\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "capital" or "capitaux"?
"capital" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,652 in our French list, against #6,472 for "capitaux". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering capital vs capitaux

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 “capital” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list