consignevsconsignésWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: consigne is a noun, consignés is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“consigne” is a noun and “consignés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,539
“consigne” frequency rank
#47,248
“consignés” frequency rank
59787
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature consigne consignés
Definition Ordre, instruction que l’on donne à une sentinelle, à un soldat. Masculin pluriel de consigné.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
consigne
9 ch
consignés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: consigne is \kɔ̃.siɲ\ while consignés is \kɔ̃.si.ɲe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

consigne is recorded at frequency rank #12,539, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.siɲ\. consignés is at rank #47,248, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.si.ɲe\.

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 59787, this pair ranks #101,187 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of consigne vs consignés

Shared letters: cginos. Private to "consigne": e. Private to "consignés": é.

"consigne" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "consignés" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • consignecconsigne · cnosigne · conisgne · connsigne · consgine · consigen · consiggne · consignne

Frequency comparison

consigne#12,539
consignés#47,248

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "consigne" and "consignés" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "consigne" is a noun and "consignés" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "consigne" or "consignés"?
"consigne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,539 in our French list, against #47,248 for "consignés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering consigne vs consignés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “consigne”; for an adjective, it's “consignés”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “consigne” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list