dimanchevsdimanchesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#768
“dimanche” frequency rank
#10,687
“dimanches” frequency rank
11455
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dimanche dimanches
Definition Septième ^([1]) jour de la semaine. Suit le samedi et précède le lundi. Pluriel de dimanche.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
dimanche
9 ch
dimanches

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. dimanche and dimanches are pronounced identically (\di.mɑ̃ʃ\) 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) - “dimanche” sits inside “dimanches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11455, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dimanche is recorded at frequency rank #768, classified as anoun, pronounced \di.mɑ̃ʃ\. dimanches is at rank #10,687, tagged as anoun, pronounced \di.mɑ̃ʃ\.

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 11455, this pair ranks #409,090 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dimanche vs dimanches

Shared letters: acdehimn. Private to "dimanche": -. Private to "dimanches": s.

"dimanche" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV  ·  "dimanches" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dimancheddimanche · diamnche · dimacnhe · dimancche · dimanceh · dimanchhe · dimanhce · dimannche
  • dimanchesddimanches · diamnches · dimacnhes · dimancches · dimancehs · dimanchess · dimanchhes · dimanchse

Frequency comparison

dimanche#768
dimanches#10,687

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dimanche" and "dimanches" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\di.mɑ̃ʃ\), 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, "dimanche" or "dimanches"?
"dimanche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #768 in our French list, against #10,687 for "dimanches". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dimanche vs dimanches

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 “dimanche” 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