Which to use
“fédérale” is a noun and “fédérales” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,849
- “fédérale” frequency rank
- #11,777
- “fédérales” frequency rank
- 15626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fédérale | fédérales |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Route fédérale (aux États-Unis). | Féminin pluriel de fédéral. |
Same sound, different letters: fédérale vs fédérales
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. fédérale runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against fédérales's 9 (CVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - fédérale and fédérales
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: fédérale and fédérales carry the same recorded pronunciation, \fe.de.ʁal\. 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) - “fédérale” sits inside “fédérales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fédérale is recorded at frequency rank #3,849, classified as anoun, pronounced \fe.de.ʁal\. fédérales is at rank #11,777, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fe.de.ʁal\.
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 15626, this pair ranks #391,553 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fédérale vs fédérales
Shared letters: adeflré. Private to "fédérale": -. Private to "fédérales": s.
"fédérale" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "fédérales" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fédérale" for "fédérales" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fédérale" or "fédérales"?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "fédérale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fédérales" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #391,553 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fédérale" and "fédérales" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fédérale vs fémorale". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #391,553 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.