damesvsdamnésWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,140
“dames” frequency rank
#26,687
“damnés” frequency rank
30827
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dames damnés
Definition Jeu de dames, jeu stratégique à deux joueurs, se jouant avec des pions blancs et noirs sur un damier de 64, 100 ou 144 cases selon la variante des règles utilisée. Masculin pluriel de damné.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dames and damnés apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dames
6 ch
damnés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dames is \dam\ while damnés is \da.ne\. 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 30827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dames is recorded at frequency rank #4,140, classified as anoun, pronounced \dam\. damnés is at rank #26,687, tagged as anadj, pronounced \da.ne\.

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 30827, this pair ranks #307,733 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dames vs damnés

Shared letters: adms. Private to "dames": e. Private to "damnés": .

"dames" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "damnés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • damesadmes · daems · damess · dammes · damse · ddames · dmaes

Frequency comparison

dames#4,140
damnés#26,687

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dames" and "damnés" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dames" is a noun and "damnés" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dames" or "damnés"?
"dames" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,140 in our French list, against #26,687 for "damnés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dames vs damnés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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