cornichonvscornichonsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,726
“cornichon” frequency rank
#32,358
“cornichons” frequency rank
72084
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cornichon cornichons
Definition Petit concombre que l’on consomme vert, confit dans le vinaigre. Pluriel de cornichon (condiment, imbécile).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cornichon and cornichons apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
cornichon
10 ch
cornichons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. cornichon and cornichons are pronounced identically (\kɔʁ.ni.ʃɔ̃\) 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) - “cornichon” sits inside “cornichons”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72084, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cornichon is recorded at frequency rank #39,726, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁ.ni.ʃɔ̃\. cornichons is at rank #32,358, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁ.ni.ʃɔ̃\.

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 72084, this pair ranks #45,273 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cornichon vs cornichons

Shared letters: chinor. Private to "cornichon": -. Private to "cornichons": s.

"cornichon" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "cornichons" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cornichonccornichon · conrichon · corinchon · corncihon · cornicchon · cornichhon · cornichno · cornichonn
  • cornichonsccornichons · conrichons · corinchons · corncihons · cornicchons · cornichhons · cornichnos · cornichonns

Frequency comparison

cornichon#39,726
cornichons#32,358

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cornichon" and "cornichons" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\kɔʁ.ni.ʃɔ̃\), 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, "cornichon" or "cornichons"?
"cornichons" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,358 in our French list, against #39,726 for "cornichon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cornichon vs cornichons

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 “cornichon” 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