Which to use
“communes” and “communs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,556
- “communes” frequency rank
- #5,016
- “communs” frequency rank
- 6572
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | communes | communs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de commun. | Masculin pluriel de commun. |
Where the eye mixes communes and communs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. communes runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against communs's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses communes with communs
A purely visual mix-up. communes (\kɔ.myn\) and communs (\kɔ.mœ̃\) 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 6572, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
communes is recorded at frequency rank #1,556, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ.myn\. communs is at rank #5,016, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ.mœ̃\.
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 6572, this pair ranks #425,859 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of communes vs communs
Shared letters: cmnosu. Private to "communes": e. Private to "communs": -.
"communes" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "communs" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "communes" and "communs" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "communes" vs "communs" - which ranks higher?
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 "communes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "communs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #425,859 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "communes" and "communs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "communes vs communier". 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 #425,859 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.