capitalesvscapitalsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,119
“capitales” frequency rank
#39,690
“capitals” frequency rank
51809
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capitales capitals
Definition Féminin pluriel de capital. Masculin pluriel de capital.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
capitales
8 ch
capitals

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. capitales (\ka.pi.tal\) and capitals (\ka.pi.ˈtals\) 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 51809, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capitales is recorded at frequency rank #12,119, classified as anadj, pronounced \ka.pi.tal\. capitals is at rank #39,690, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ka.pi.ˈtals\.

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 51809, this pair ranks #152,300 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of capitales vs capitals

Shared letters: acilpst. Private to "capitales": e. Private to "capitals": -.

"capitales" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC  ·  "capitals" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • capitalesacpitales · caiptales · capiatles · capitaels · capitaless · capitalles · capitalse · capitlaes
  • capitalsacpitals · caiptals · capiatls · capitalls · capitalss · capitasl · capitlas · capittals

Frequency comparison

capitales#12,119
capitals#39,690

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capitales" and "capitals" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ka.pi.tal\ versus \ka.pi.ˈtals\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "capitales" or "capitals"?
"capitales" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,119 in our French list, against #39,690 for "capitals". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering capitales vs capitals

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 “capitales” 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