Which to use
“compétence” and “compétences” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,057
- “compétence” frequency rank
- #2,766
- “compétences” frequency rank
- 6823
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compétence | compétences |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fonction attribuée par la loi à une autorité publique, à un établissement public. | Pluriel de compétence. |
Same sound, different letters: compétence vs compétences
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 10 letters. compétence runs 10 letters (CVCCVCVCCV) against compétences's 11 (CVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - compétence and compétences
This is the hard kind. compétence and compétences are pronounced identically (\kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃s\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “compétence” sits inside “compétences”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compétence is recorded at frequency rank #4,057, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃s\. compétences is at rank #2,766, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃s\.
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 6823, this pair ranks #425,116 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compétence vs compétences
Shared letters: cemnopté. Private to "compétence": -. Private to "compétences": s.
"compétence" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV · "compétences" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "compétence" and "compétences" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "compétence" or "compétences"?
Useful next steps
"compétence" and "compétences" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "compétence" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "compétences" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #425,116 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compétence" and "compétences" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compétence vs compétentes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #425,116 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.