catholiquevscatholiquesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,507
“catholique” frequency rank
#4,216
“catholiques” frequency rank
6723
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature catholique catholiques
Definition Relatif à la religion chrétienne et l’Église dirigée par le pape de Rome. Pluriel de catholique.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set catholique and catholiques apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
catholique
11 ch
catholiques

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. catholique and catholiques are pronounced identically (\ka.tɔ.lik\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “catholique” sits inside “catholiques”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

catholique is recorded at frequency rank #2,507, classified as anadj, pronounced \ka.tɔ.lik\. catholiques is at rank #4,216, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ka.tɔ.lik\.

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 6723, this pair ranks #425,419 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of catholique vs catholiques

Shared letters: acehiloqtu. Private to "catholique": -. Private to "catholiques": s.

"catholique" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVV  ·  "catholiques" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • catholiqueactholique · cahtolique · cathholique · cathloique · cathoilque · catholiqeu · catholiqque · catholiuqe
  • catholiquesactholiques · cahtoliques · cathholiques · cathloiques · cathoilques · catholiqeus · catholiqques · catholiquess

Frequency comparison

catholique#2,507
catholiques#4,216

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "catholique" and "catholiques" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ka.tɔ.lik\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "catholique" or "catholiques"?
"catholique" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,507 in our French list, against #4,216 for "catholiques". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering catholique vs catholiques

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 “catholique” 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