fémininvsfémininsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,199
“féminin” frequency rank
#11,060
“féminins” frequency rank
14259
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
féminin
8 ch
féminins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

féminin and féminins are indexed as a confusable French pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “féminin” sits inside “féminins”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14259, 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\. féminins is at rank #11,060, tagged as anadj.

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 14259, this pair ranks #397,468 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of féminin vs féminins

Shared letters: fimné. Private to "féminin": -. Private to "féminins": s.

"féminin" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "féminins" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

féminin#3,199
féminins#11,060

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "féminin" and "féminins" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “féminin” sits inside “féminins”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "féminin" or "féminins"?
"féminin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,199 in our French list, against #11,060 for "féminins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering féminin vs féminins

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list