compagnesvscompagniesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#29,292
“compagnes” frequency rank
#2,868
“compagnies” frequency rank
32160
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compagnes compagnies
Definition Pluriel de compagne. Pluriel de compagnie.

Where the eye mixes compagnes and compagnies

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. compagnes runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against compagnies's 10 (CVCCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
compagnes
10 ch
compagnies

Why the eye confuses compagnes with compagnies

A purely visual mix-up. compagnes (\kɔ̃.paɲ\) and compagnies (\kɔ̃.pa.ɲi\) 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 32160, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compagnes is recorded at frequency rank #29,292, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.paɲ\. compagnies is at rank #2,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pa.ɲi\.

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 32160, this pair ranks #299,107 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of compagnes vs compagnies

Shared letters: acegmnops. Private to "compagnes": -. Private to "compagnies": i.

"compagnes" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "compagnies" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • compagnes ← ccompagnes · cmopagnes · comapgnes · commpagnes · compagens · compaggnes · compagness · compagnnes
  • compagnies ← ccompagnies · cmopagnies · comapgnies · commpagnies · compaggnies · compagines · compagneis · compagniess

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "compagnes" and "compagnies" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.paɲ\ versus \kɔ̃.pa.ɲi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "compagnes" vs "compagnies" - which ranks higher?
"compagnies" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,868 in our French list, against #29,292 for "compagnes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "compagnes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compagnies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #299,107 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "compagnes" and "compagnies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compagnes vs comptines". 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 #299,107 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list