dépassement vs dépassements, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#12,557
“dépassement” frequency rank: #29,332
“dépassements” frequency rank: 41889
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dépassement	dépassements
Definition	Action de dépasser et spécialement d’outrepasser.	Pluriel de dépassement.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dépassement and dépassements apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch

dépassement

12 ch

dépassements

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. dépassement and dépassements are pronounced identically (\de.pas.mɑ̃\) 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) - “dépassement” sits inside “dépassements”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dépassement is recorded at frequency rank #12,557, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.pas.mɑ̃\. dépassements is at rank #29,332, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.pas.mɑ̃\.

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 41889, this pair ranks #229,782 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dépassement vs dépassements

Shared letters: ademnpsté. Private to "dépassement": -. Private to "dépassements": -.

"dépassement" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCC · "dépassements" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCCC

Frequency comparison

dépassement#12,557

dépassements#29,332

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dépassement" and "dépassements" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\de.pas.mɑ̃\), 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, "dépassement" or "dépassements"?

"dépassement" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,557 in our French list, against #29,332 for "dépassements". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dépassement vs dépassements

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 “dépassement” entry
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