Which to use
“connaissance” and “connaissances” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,226
- “connaissance” frequency rank
- #2,816
- “connaissances” frequency rank
- 4042
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | connaissance | connaissances |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Exercice de la faculté par laquelle on connaît et on distingue les objets. | Pluriel de connaissance. |
Same sound, different letters: connaissance vs connaissances
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 12 letters. connaissance runs 12 letters (CVCCVVCCVCCV) against connaissances's 13 (CVCCVVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - connaissance / connaissances
This is the hard kind. connaissance and connaissances are pronounced identically (\kɔ.nɛ.sɑ̃s\) 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) - “connaissance” sits inside “connaissances”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4042, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
connaissance is recorded at frequency rank #1,226, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.nɛ.sɑ̃s\. connaissances is at rank #2,816, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.nɛ.sɑ̃s\.
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 4042, this pair ranks #432,598 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of connaissance vs connaissances
Shared letters: aceinos. Private to "connaissance": -. Private to "connaissances": -.
"connaissance" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVCCV · "connaissances" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- connaissance ← cconnaissance · cnonaissance · conaissance · conanissance · connaisance · connaisasnce · connaissacne · connaissancce
- connaissances ← cconnaissances · cnonaissances · conaissances · conanissances · connaisances · connaisasnces · connaissacnes · connaissancces
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "connaissance" and "connaissances" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "connaissance" or "connaissances"?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "connaissance" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "connaissances" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #432,598 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "connaissance" and "connaissances" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "connaissance vs connaissant". 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 #432,598 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.