Which to use
“énigme” and “énigmes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,087
- “énigme” frequency rank
- #20,617
- “énigmes” frequency rank
- 32704
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | énigme | énigmes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Jeu d’esprit mettant à l’épreuve la réflexion de l’interlocuteur qui doit répondre à une interrogation dont le sens est caché sous une parabole ou une métaphore. | Pluriel de énigme. |
Same sound, different letters: énigme vs énigmes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. énigme runs 6 letters (VCVCCV) against énigmes's 7 (VCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - énigme and énigmes
This is the hard kind. énigme and énigmes are pronounced identically (\e.niɡm\) 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) - “énigme” sits inside “énigmes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32704, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
énigme is recorded at frequency rank #12,087, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.niɡm\. 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 32704, this pair ranks #295,491 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of énigme vs énigmes
Shared letters: egimné. Private to "énigme": -. Private to "énigmes": s.
"énigme" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "énigmes" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "énigme" and "énigmes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "énigme" or "énigmes"?
Useful next steps
"énigme" and "énigmes" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "énigme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "énigmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,491 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "énigme" and "énigmes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "énigmes vs érigées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #295,491 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.