comptervscompteursWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: compter is a verb, compteurs is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“compter” is a verb and “compteurs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,323
“compter” frequency rank
#15,595
“compteurs” frequency rank
16918
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compter compteurs
Definition Déterminer (une quantité, un nombre), plus particulièrement par un dénombrement, sinon par un calcul. Pluriel de compteur.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set compter and compteurs apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
compter
9 ch
compteurs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: compter is \kɔ̃.te\ while compteurs is \kɔ̃.tœʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compter is recorded at frequency rank #1,323, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.te\. compteurs is at rank #15,595, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.tœʁ\.

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 16918, this pair ranks #385,647 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of compter vs compteurs

Shared letters: cemoprt. Private to "compter": -. Private to "compteurs": su.

"compter" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "compteurs" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • compterccompter · cmopter · commpter · competr · comppter · compterr · comptre · comptter
  • compteursccompteurs · cmopteurs · commpteurs · competurs · comppteurs · compterus · compteurrs · compteurss

Frequency comparison

compter#1,323
compteurs#15,595

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "compter" and "compteurs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "compter" is a verb and "compteurs" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "compter" or "compteurs"?
"compter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,323 in our French list, against #15,595 for "compteurs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering compter vs compteurs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “compter”; for a noun, it's “compteurs”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “compter” 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