Which to use
“éternelles” and “éternels” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,091
- “éternelles” frequency rank
- #24,830
- “éternels” frequency rank
- 57921
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éternelles | éternels |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de éternel. | Masculin pluriel de éternel. |
Same sound, different letters: éternelles vs éternels
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. éternelles runs 10 letters (VCVCCVCCVC) against éternels's 8 (VCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - éternelles and éternels
This is the hard kind. éternelles 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57921, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éternelles is recorded at frequency rank #33,091, 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 57921, this pair ranks #112,133 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of éternelles vs éternels
Shared letters: elnrsté. Private to "éternelles": -. Private to "éternels": -.
"éternelles" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVC · "éternels" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "éternelles" and "éternels" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "éternelles" or "éternels"?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "éternelles" / "éternels". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "éternelles" 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 #112,133 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éternelles" and "éternels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "éternelle vs éternelles". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #112,133 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.