Which to use
“certaines” and “certains” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #476
- “certaines” frequency rank
- #263
- “certains” frequency rank
- 739
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | certaines | certains |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de certain. | Masculin pluriel de certain. |
Where the eye mixes certaines and certains
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: certaines vs certains
A purely visual mix-up. certaines (\sɛʁ.tɛn\) and certains (\sɛʁ.tɛ̃\) 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 739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
certaines is recorded at frequency rank #476, classified as anadj, pronounced \sɛʁ.tɛn\. certains is at rank #263, tagged as anadj, pronounced \sɛʁ.tɛ̃\.
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 739, this pair ranks #439,194 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of certaines vs certains
Shared letters: aceinrst. Private to "certaines": -. Private to "certains": -.
"certaines" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "certains" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "certaines" and "certains" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "certaines" or "certains"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "certaines" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "certains" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #439,194 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "certaines" and "certains" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "certains vs crains". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #439,194 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.