fémininvsfémininesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“féminin” and “féminines” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,199
“féminin” frequency rank
#10,331
“féminines” frequency rank
13530
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature féminin féminines
Definition Qualifie un des genres de mots. Il est généralement — mais pas toujours — lié aux femmes. Féminin pluriel de féminin.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set féminin and féminines apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
féminin
9 ch
féminines

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. féminin (\fe.mi.nɛ̃\) and féminines (\fe.mi.nin\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “féminin” sits inside “féminines”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

féminin is recorded at frequency rank #3,199, classified as anadj, pronounced \fe.mi.nɛ̃\. féminines is at rank #10,331, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fe.mi.nin\.

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 13530, this pair ranks #400,623 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of féminin vs féminines

Shared letters: fimné. Private to "féminin": -. Private to "féminines": es.

"féminin" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "féminines" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

féminin#3,199
féminines#10,331

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "féminin" and "féminines" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fe.mi.nɛ̃\ versus \fe.mi.nin\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "féminin" or "féminines"?
"féminin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,199 in our French list, against #10,331 for "féminines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering féminin vs féminines

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “féminin” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list