Which to use
“exceptionnel” and “exceptionnels” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,231
- “exceptionnel” frequency rank
- #11,964
- “exceptionnels” frequency rank
- 16195
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exceptionnel | exceptionnels |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est relatif à une exception. | Masculin pluriel de exceptionnel. |
Same sound, different letters: exceptionnel vs exceptionnels
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 12 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - exceptionnel and exceptionnels
This is the hard kind. exceptionnel and exceptionnels are pronounced identically (\ɛk.sɛp.sjɔ.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) - “exceptionnel” sits inside “exceptionnels”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16195, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exceptionnel is recorded at frequency rank #4,231, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛk.sɛp.sjɔ.nɛl\. exceptionnels is at rank #11,964, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛk.sɛp.sjɔ.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 16195, this pair ranks #388,937 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of exceptionnel vs exceptionnels
Shared letters: ceilnoptx. Private to "exceptionnel": -. Private to "exceptionnels": s.
"exceptionnel" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCCVC · "exceptionnels" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- exceptionnel ← ecxeptionnel · excceptionnel · excepitonnel · excepptionnel · exceptinonel · exceptionel · exceptionenl · exceptionnell
- exceptionnels ← ecxeptionnels · excceptionnels · excepitonnels · excepptionnels · exceptinonels · exceptionels · exceptionenls · exceptionnells
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "exceptionnel" for "exceptionnels" ever safe?
Frequency check: "exceptionnel" vs "exceptionnels" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
"exceptionnel" and "exceptionnels" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "exceptionnel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exceptionnels" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #388,937 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "exceptionnel" and "exceptionnels" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exceptionnelles vs exceptionnels". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #388,937 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.