Which to use
“cirque” and “cirques” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,922
- “cirque” frequency rank
- #32,746
- “cirques” frequency rank
- 37668
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cirque | cirques |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lieu destiné, chez les Romains, à accueillir les jeux publics, et particulièrement les diverses formes de lutte et les courses de chevaux et de chars. | Pluriel de cirque. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cirque and cirques apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cirque and cirques form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “cirque” sits inside “cirques” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cirque is recorded at frequency rank #4,922, classified as anoun, pronounced \siʁk\. cirques is at rank #32,746, tagged as anoun, pronounced \siʁk\.
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 37668, this pair ranks #260,823 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cirque" and "cirques" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cirque vs cirques
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 “cirque” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable