distinguévsdistinguéesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,569
“distingué” frequency rank
#35,467
“distinguées” frequency rank
49036
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature distingué distinguées
Definition Qui est au-dessus du lot. Féminin pluriel de distingué.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
distingué
11 ch
distinguées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. distingué (\dis.tɛ̃.ge\) and distinguées (\dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “distingué” sits inside “distinguées”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

distingué is recorded at frequency rank #13,569, classified as anadj, pronounced \dis.tɛ̃.ge\. distinguées is at rank #35,467, tagged as anadj, pronounced \dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\.

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 49036, this pair ranks #173,975 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of distingué vs distinguées

Shared letters: dginstué. Private to "distingué": -. Private to "distinguées": e.

"distingué" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV  ·  "distinguées" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVVC

Frequency comparison

distingué#13,569
distinguées#35,467

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "distingué" and "distinguées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dis.tɛ̃.ge\ versus \dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "distingué" or "distinguées"?
"distingué" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,569 in our French list, against #35,467 for "distinguées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering distingué vs distinguées

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 “distingué” 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