compétentevscompétentesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,995
“compétente” frequency rank
#17,099
“compétentes” frequency rank
31094
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compétente compétentes
Definition Féminin singulier de compétent. Féminin pluriel de compétent.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set compétente and compétentes apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
compétente
11 ch
compétentes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. compétente and compétentes are pronounced identically (\kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃t\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “compétente” sits inside “compétentes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31094, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compétente is recorded at frequency rank #13,995, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃t\. compétentes is at rank #17,099, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃t\.

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 31094, this pair ranks #306,020 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of compétente vs compétentes

Shared letters: cemnopté. Private to "compétente": -. Private to "compétentes": s.

"compétente" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV  ·  "compétentes" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

compétente#13,995
compétentes#17,099

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "compétente" and "compétentes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃t\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "compétente" or "compétentes"?
"compétente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,995 in our French list, against #17,099 for "compétentes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering compétente vs compétentes

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 “compétente” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list