Which to use
“écosystème” and “écosystèmes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,156
- “écosystème” frequency rank
- #16,040
- “écosystèmes” frequency rank
- 27196
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | écosystème | écosystèmes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ensemble formé par une association ou communauté d’êtres vivants (ou biocénose) et son environnement biologique, géologique, édaphique, hydrologique, climatique, etc. (le biotope). | Pluriel de écosystème. |
Same sound, different letters: écosystème vs écosystèmes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 10 letters.
Homophone desk: écosystème vs écosystèmes
This is the hard kind. écosystème and écosystèmes are pronounced identically (\e.kɔ.sis.tɛm\) 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) - “écosystème” sits inside “écosystèmes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
écosystème is recorded at frequency rank #11,156, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.kɔ.sis.tɛm\. écosystèmes is at rank #16,040, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.kɔ.sis.tɛm\.
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 27196, this pair ranks #330,515 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of écosystème vs écosystèmes
Shared letters: cemostyèé. Private to "écosystème": -. Private to "écosystèmes": -.
"écosystème" · 10 letters · shape VCVCVCCVCV · "écosystèmes" · 11 letters · shape VCVCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "écosystème" for "écosystèmes" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "écosystème" or "écosystèmes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "écosystème" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "écosystèmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #330,515 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
Confusion rank #330,515 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.