cuillèrevscuillèresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,026
“cuillère” frequency rank
#27,760
“cuillères” frequency rank
38786
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cuillère cuillères
Definition Ustensile de table formé d’un manche et d’un cuilleron dont on se sert ordinairement pour manger le potage et d’autres aliments liquides ou de peu de consistance. Pluriel de cuillère.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cuillère and cuillères apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
cuillère
9 ch
cuillères

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. cuillère and cuillères are pronounced identically (\kɥi.jɛʁ\) 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) - “cuillère” sits inside “cuillères”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cuillère is recorded at frequency rank #11,026, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɥi.jɛʁ\. cuillères is at rank #27,760, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɥi.jɛʁ\.

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 38786, this pair ranks #252,818 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cuillère vs cuillères

Shared letters: ceilruè. Private to "cuillère": -. Private to "cuillères": s.

"cuillère" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV  ·  "cuillères" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

cuillère#11,026
cuillères#27,760

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cuillère" and "cuillères" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\kɥi.jɛʁ\), 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, "cuillère" or "cuillères"?
"cuillère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,026 in our French list, against #27,760 for "cuillères". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cuillère vs cuillères

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 “cuillère” 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