Which to use
“château” and “châteaux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,586
- “château” frequency rank
- #9,133
- “châteaux” frequency rank
- 10719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | château | châteaux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Demeure féodale défendue par des fossés et de gros murs flanqués de tours ou de bastions. | Pluriel de château. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set château and châteaux apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. château (\ʃɑ.to\) and châteaux (\ʃa.to\) 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 extra letter(s) - “château” sits inside “châteaux”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
château is recorded at frequency rank #1,586, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɑ.to\. châteaux is at rank #9,133, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃa.to\.
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 10719, this pair ranks #411,897 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of château vs châteaux
Shared letters: acehtuâ. Private to "château": -. Private to "châteaux": x.
"château" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVV · "châteaux" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVVVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "château" and "châteaux" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "château" or "châteaux"?
Remembering château vs châteaux
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 “château” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable