énièmevsénigmesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: énième is a adjective, énigmes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“énième” is an adjective and “énigmes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,944
“énième” frequency rank
#20,617
“énigmes” frequency rank
34561
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature énième énigmes
Definition Sérié, mais de position indéterminée. Pluriel de énigme.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set énième and énigmes apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
énième
7 ch
énigmes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: énième is \e.njɛm\ while énigmes is \e.niɡm\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34561, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

énième is recorded at frequency rank #13,944, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.njɛm\. énigmes is at rank #20,617, tagged as anoun, pronounced \e.niɡm\.

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 34561, this pair ranks #282,933 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of énième vs énigmes

Shared letters: eimné. Private to "énième": è. Private to "énigmes": gs.

"énième" · 6 letters · shape VCVVCV  ·  "énigmes" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

énième#13,944
énigmes#20,617

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "énième" and "énigmes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "énième" is an adjective and "énigmes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "énième" or "énigmes"?
"énième" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,944 in our French list, against #20,617 for "énigmes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering énième vs énigmes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “énième”; for a noun, it's “énigmes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “énième” 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