Which to use
“catégorie” and “catégories” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,555
- “catégorie” frequency rank
- #3,060
- “catégories” frequency rank
- 4615
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | catégorie | catégories |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Classe dans laquelle on range plusieurs objets ou plusieurs personnes d’une même nature. | Pluriel de catégorie. |
Same sound, different letters: catégorie vs catégories
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters. catégorie runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVV) against catégories's 10 (CVCVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - catégorie and catégories
This is the hard kind. catégorie and catégories are pronounced identically (\ka.te.ɡɔ.ʁi\) 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) - “catégorie” sits inside “catégories”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4615, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
catégorie is recorded at frequency rank #1,555, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.te.ɡɔ.ʁi\. catégories is at rank #3,060, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ka.te.ɡɔ.ʁi\.
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 4615, this pair ranks #431,157 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of catégorie vs catégories
Shared letters: acegiorté. Private to "catégorie": -. Private to "catégories": s.
"catégorie" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV · "catégories" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "catégorie" and "catégories" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "catégorie" or "catégories"?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "catégorie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "catégories" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #431,157 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "catégorie" and "catégories" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "catégorie vs catégorique". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #431,157 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.