Which to use
“éternel” and “éternels” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,577
- “éternel” frequency rank
- #24,830
- “éternels” frequency rank
- 31407
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éternel | éternels |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n’a pas eu de commencement et n’aura jamais de fin. | Masculin pluriel de éternel. |
Same sound, different letters: éternel vs éternels
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. éternel runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against éternels's 8 (VCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: éternel vs éternels
This is the hard kind. éternel and éternels are pronounced identically (\e.tɛʁ.nɛl\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “éternel” sits inside “éternels”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31407, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éternel is recorded at frequency rank #6,577, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.tɛʁ.nɛl\. éternels is at rank #24,830, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.tɛʁ.nɛl\.
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 31407, this pair ranks #303,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éternel vs éternels
Shared letters: elnrté. Private to "éternel": -. Private to "éternels": s.
"éternel" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "éternels" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éternel" for "éternels" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "éternel" or "éternels" show up more?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "éternel" / "éternels". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "éternel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éternels" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #303,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éternel" and "éternels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éternelles vs éternels". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #303,979 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.