Which to use
“elf” is an adjective and “elfes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,277
- “elf” frequency rank
- #18,734
- “elfes” frequency rank
- 58011
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | elf | elfes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Onze. | Pluriel de elfe. |
Same sound, different letters: elf vs elfes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - elf / elfes
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: elf and elfes carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ɛlf\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “elf” sits inside “elfes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58011, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
elf is recorded at frequency rank #39,277, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛlf\. elfes is at rank #18,734, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛlf\.
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 58011, this pair ranks #111,594 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of elf vs elfes
Shared letters: efl. Private to "elf": -. Private to "elfes": s.
"elf" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "elfes" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- elfes ← efles · elefs · elfess · elffes · elfse · ellfes · lefes
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "elf" and "elfes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "elf" vs "elfes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
"elf" and "elfes" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "elf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "elfes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #111,594 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "elf" and "elfes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "elf vs EPO". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #111,594 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.