douloureusevsdouloureusesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,387
“douloureuse” frequency rank
#20,987
“douloureuses” frequency rank
32374
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature douloureuse douloureuses
Definition Facture, note à payer, addition à payer. Pluriel de douloureuse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

11 ch
douloureuse
12 ch
douloureuses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. douloureuse and douloureuses are pronounced identically (\du.lu.ʁøz\) 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) - “douloureuse” sits inside “douloureuses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32374, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

douloureuse is recorded at frequency rank #11,387, classified as anoun, pronounced \du.lu.ʁøz\. douloureuses is at rank #20,987, tagged as anoun, pronounced \du.lu.ʁøz\.

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 32374, this pair ranks #297,717 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of douloureuse vs douloureuses

Shared letters: delorsu. Private to "douloureuse": -. Private to "douloureuses": -.

"douloureuse" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVVCVVCV  ·  "douloureuses" · 12 letters · shape CVVCVVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • douloureuseddouloureuse · doluoureuse · doulloureuse · doulorueuse · douloueruse · doulouresue · douloureues · douloureusse
  • douloureusesddouloureuses · doluoureuses · doulloureuses · doulorueuses · douloueruses · doulouresues · douloureuess · douloureusess

Frequency comparison

douloureuse#11,387
douloureuses#20,987

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "douloureuse" and "douloureuses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\du.lu.ʁøz\), 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, "douloureuse" or "douloureuses"?
"douloureuse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,387 in our French list, against #20,987 for "douloureuses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering douloureuse vs douloureuses

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 “douloureuse” 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