Which to use
“éternelle” is a noun and “éternelles” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,641
- “éternelle” frequency rank
- #33,091
- “éternelles” frequency rank
- 41732
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éternelle | éternelles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plante de la famille des composées, généralement appelée immortelle, qui est ainsi nommée parce que ses fleurs ne se fanent jamais, une fois coupées. | Féminin pluriel de éternel. |
Same sound, different letters: éternelle vs éternelles
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters. éternelle runs 9 letters (VCVCCVCCV) against éternelles's 10 (VCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - éternelle / éternelles
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: éternelle and éternelles carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.tɛʁ.nɛl\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “éternelle” sits inside “éternelles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éternelle is recorded at frequency rank #8,641, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.tɛʁ.nɛl\. éternelles is at rank #33,091, 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 41732, this pair ranks #230,907 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éternelle vs éternelles
Shared letters: elnrté. Private to "éternelle": -. Private to "éternelles": s.
"éternelle" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV · "éternelles" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "éternelle" and "éternelles" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "éternelle" vs "éternelles" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "éternelle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "éternelles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #230,907 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éternelle" and "éternelles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éternelles vs éternels". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #230,907 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.