Which to use
“entretien” and “entretiens” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,592
- “entretien” frequency rank
- #6,501
- “entretiens” frequency rank
- 8093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | entretien | entretiens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Maintenance ; ensemble des soins et dépenses qu'exigent le maintien de certaines choses en bon état. | Pluriel de entretien. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set entretien and entretiens apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
entretien and entretiens form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “entretien” sits inside “entretiens” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
entretien is recorded at frequency rank #1,592, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.tʁə.tjɛ̃\. entretiens is at rank #6,501, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɑ̃.tʁə.tjɛ̃\.
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 8093, this pair ranks #421,168 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "entretien" and "entretiens" be used interchangeably?
Remembering entretien vs entretiens
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “entretien” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable