cavernevscavernesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,566
“caverne” frequency rank
#21,563
“cavernes” frequency rank
38129
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caverne cavernes
Definition Cavité naturelle dans des rochers, dans des montagnes, sous terre. Pluriel de caverne.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caverne and cavernes apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
caverne
8 ch
cavernes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. caverne and cavernes are pronounced identically (\ka.vɛʁn\) 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) - “caverne” sits inside “cavernes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caverne is recorded at frequency rank #16,566, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.vɛʁn\. cavernes is at rank #21,563, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ka.vɛʁn\.

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 38129, this pair ranks #257,444 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caverne vs cavernes

Shared letters: acenrv. Private to "caverne": -. Private to "cavernes": s.

"caverne" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "cavernes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caverneacverne · caevrne · cavenre · caveren · cavernne · caverrne · cavrene · cavverne
  • cavernesacvernes · caevrnes · cavenres · caverens · caverness · cavernnes · cavernse · caverrnes

Frequency comparison

caverne#16,566
cavernes#21,563

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caverne" and "cavernes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ka.vɛʁn\), 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, "caverne" or "cavernes"?
"caverne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,566 in our French list, against #21,563 for "cavernes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caverne vs cavernes

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 “caverne” 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