Which to use
“étrangère” is a noun and “étrangères” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,582
- “étrangère” frequency rank
- #2,349
- “étrangères” frequency rank
- 5931
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étrangère | étrangères |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Femme qui vient d’un endroit (ville, pays…) différent. | Féminin pluriel de étranger. |
Same sound, different letters: étrangère vs étrangères
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters. étrangère runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against étrangères's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - étrangère and étrangères
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: étrangère and étrangères carry the same recorded pronunciation, \e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\. 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) - “étrangère” sits inside “étrangères”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5931, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étrangère is recorded at frequency rank #3,582, classified as anoun, pronounced \e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\. étrangères is at rank #2,349, tagged as anadj, pronounced \et.ʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\.
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 5931, this pair ranks #427,650 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of étrangère vs étrangères
Shared letters: aegnrtèé. Private to "étrangère": -. Private to "étrangères": s.
"étrangère" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "étrangères" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "étrangère" and "étrangères" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "étrangère" or "étrangères"?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "étrangère" / "étrangères". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "étrangère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étrangères" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,650 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étrangère" and "étrangères" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "étrangère vs étranglée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #427,650 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.