Which to use
“délicates” and “délicats” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,182
- “délicates” frequency rank
- #21,923
- “délicats” frequency rank
- 40105
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | délicates | délicats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de délicat. | Masculin pluriel de délicat. |
Where the eye mixes délicates and délicats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. délicates runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against délicats's 8 (CVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses délicates with délicats
A purely visual mix-up. délicates (\de.li.kat\) and délicats (\de.li.ka\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40105, 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\. délicats is at rank #21,923, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.li.ka\.
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 40105, this pair ranks #243,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of délicates vs délicats
Shared letters: acdilsté. Private to "délicates": e. Private to "délicats": -.
"délicates" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "délicats" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "délicates" and "délicats" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "délicates" or "délicats"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "délicates" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "délicats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #243,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "délicates" and "délicats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "délicats vs délirants". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #243,009 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.