fémininevsfémininesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: féminine is a noun, féminines is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“féminine” is a noun and “féminines” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,674
“féminine” frequency rank
#10,331
“féminines” frequency rank
15005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature féminine féminines
Definition Sportive (par opposition aux hommes). Féminin pluriel de féminin.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set féminine and féminines apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
féminine
9 ch
féminines

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: féminine and féminines carry the same recorded pronunciation, \fe.mi.nin\. 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) - “féminine” sits inside “féminines”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

féminine is recorded at frequency rank #4,674, classified as anoun, pronounced \fe.mi.nin\. 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 15005, this pair ranks #394,277 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of féminine vs féminines

Shared letters: efimné. Private to "féminine": -. Private to "féminines": s.

"féminine" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "féminines" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

féminine#4,674
féminines#10,331

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "féminine" and "féminines" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "féminine" is a noun and "féminines" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "féminine" or "féminines"?
"féminine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,674 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 féminine vs féminines

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “féminine”; for an adjective, it's “féminines”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “féminine” 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