duchésvsducsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,757
“duchés” frequency rank
#14,017
“ducs” frequency rank
53774
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duchés ducs
Definition Pluriel de duché. Pluriel de duc.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set duchés and ducs apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
duchés
4 ch
ducs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. duchés (\dy.ʃe\) and ducs (\dyk\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53774, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

duchés is recorded at frequency rank #39,757, classified as anoun, pronounced \dy.ʃe\. ducs is at rank #14,017, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dyk\.

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 53774, this pair ranks #138,443 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of duchés vs ducs

Shared letters: cdsu. Private to "duchés": . Private to "ducs": -.

"duchés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "ducs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ducsdcus · dducs · duccs · ducss · dusc · udcs

Frequency comparison

duchés#39,757
ducs#14,017

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duchés" and "ducs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dy.ʃe\ versus \dyk\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "duchés" or "ducs"?
"ducs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,017 in our French list, against #39,757 for "duchés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering duchés vs ducs

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 “duchés” 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