Which to use
“compétente” and “compétents” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,995
- “compétente” frequency rank
- #12,340
- “compétents” frequency rank
- 26335
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compétente | compétents |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de compétent. | Masculin pluriel de compétent. |
Where the eye mixes compétente and compétents
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. compétente (CVCCVCVCCV) and compétents (CVCCVCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between compétente and compétents
A purely visual mix-up. compétente (\kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃t\) and compétents (\kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃\) 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 a single letter - e in “compétente” becomes s in “compétents”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26335, 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\. compétents is at rank #12,340, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃\.
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 26335, this pair ranks #335,645 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compétente vs compétents
Shared letters: cemnopté. Private to "compétente": -. Private to "compétents": s.
"compétente" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV · "compétents" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "compétente" for "compétents" ever safe?
Frequency check: "compétente" vs "compétents" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "compétente" and "compétents" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "compétente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "compétents" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,645 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compétente" and "compétents" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "campements vs compétents". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #335,645 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.