Which to use
“élite” and “élites” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,393
- “élite” frequency rank
- #8,486
- “élites” frequency rank
- 12879
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | élite | élites |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Le plus digne d’être choisi, ainsi celui considéré comme le meilleur. | Pluriel de élite. |
Same sound, different letters: élite vs élites
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - élite and élites
This is the hard kind. élite and élites are pronounced identically (\e.lit\) 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) - “élite” sits inside “élites”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
élite is recorded at frequency rank #4,393, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.lit\. élites is at rank #8,486, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.lit\.
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 12879, this pair ranks #403,370 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of élite vs élites
Shared letters: eilté. Private to "élite": -. Private to "élites": s.
"élite" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "élites" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "élite" for "élites" ever safe?
Which is more common, "élite" or "élites"?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "élite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "élites" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #403,370 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "élite" and "élites" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "édits vs élites". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #403,370 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.