Which to use
“éternelle” is a noun and “éternels” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,641
- “éternelle” frequency rank
- #24,830
- “éternels” frequency rank
- 33471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éternelle | éternels |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Masculin pluriel de éternel. |
Same sound, different letters: éternelle vs éternels
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. éternelle runs 9 letters (VCVCCVCCV) against éternels's 8 (VCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - éternelle / éternels
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: éternelle and éternels 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33471, 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\. 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 33471, this pair ranks #290,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of éternelle vs éternels
Shared letters: elnrté. Private to "éternelle": -. Private to "éternels": s.
"éternelle" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV · "éternels" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éternelle" for "éternels" ever safe?
Frequency check: "éternelle" vs "éternels" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
"éternelle" and "éternels" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "éternelle" 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 #290,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éternelle" and "éternels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éternelles vs éternels". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #290,415 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.