délicates vs délicatesse, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#18,182
“délicates” frequency rank: #15,134
“délicatesse” frequency rank: 33316
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	délicates	délicatesse
Definition	Féminin pluriel de délicat.	Qualité de ce qui est délicat.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch

délicates

11 ch

délicatesse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: délicates is \de.li.kat\ while délicatesse is \de.li.ka.tɛs\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “délicates” sits inside “délicatesse”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

délicates is recorded at frequency rank #18,182, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.li.kat\. délicatesse is at rank #15,134, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.li.ka.tɛs\.

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 33316, this pair ranks #291,464 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of délicates vs délicatesse

Shared letters: acdeilsté. Private to "délicates": -. Private to "délicatesse": -.

"délicates" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "délicatesse" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

délicates#18,182

délicatesse#15,134

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "délicates" and "délicatesse" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "délicates" is an adjective and "délicatesse" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "délicates" or "délicatesse"?

"délicatesse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,134 in our French list, against #18,182 for "délicates". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering délicates vs délicatesse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “délicates”; for a noun, it's “délicatesse”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “délicates” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable