fétichevsfétichesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#20,149
“fétiche” frequency rank
#36,411
“fétiches” frequency rank
56560
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fétiche fétiches
Definition Objet de culte animiste, objet cher aux peuples premiers ou chose qui est chez eux un objet de culte. Pluriel de fétiche.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
fétiche
8 ch
fétiches

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: fétiche and fétiches carry the same recorded pronunciation, \fe.tiʃ\. 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) - “fétiche” sits inside “fétiches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fétiche is recorded at frequency rank #20,149, classified as anoun, pronounced \fe.tiʃ\. fétiches is at rank #36,411, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fe.tiʃ\.

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 56560, this pair ranks #120,346 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fétiche vs fétiches

Shared letters: cefhité. Private to "fétiche": -. Private to "fétiches": s.

"fétiche" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "fétiches" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

fétiche#20,149
fétiches#36,411

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fétiche" and "fétiches" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fétiche" is a noun and "fétiches" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fétiche" or "fétiches"?
"fétiche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,149 in our French list, against #36,411 for "fétiches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fétiche vs fétiches

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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