Which to use
“élégante” is a noun and “élégantes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,504
- “élégante” frequency rank
- #25,530
- “élégantes” frequency rank
- 38034
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | élégante | élégantes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Celle qui affecte l’élégance dans sa toilette et dans ses manières. | Féminin pluriel de élégant. |
Same sound, different letters: élégante vs élégantes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. élégante runs 8 letters (VCVCVCCV) against élégantes's 9 (VCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - élégante and élégantes
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: élégante and élégantes carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.le.ɡɑ̃t\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “élégante” sits inside “élégantes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
élégante is recorded at frequency rank #12,504, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.le.ɡɑ̃t\. élégantes is at rank #25,530, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.le.ɡɑ̃t\.
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 38034, this pair ranks #258,157 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of élégante vs élégantes
Shared letters: aeglnté. Private to "élégante": -. Private to "élégantes": s.
"élégante" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV · "élégantes" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "élégante" for "élégantes" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "élégante" or "élégantes" show up more?
After this comparison
"élégante" and "élégantes" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "élégante" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "élégantes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #258,157 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "élégante" and "élégantes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "élégantes vs élégants". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #258,157 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.