fidèlevsfidèlesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,138
“fidèle” frequency rank
#4,234
“fidèles” frequency rank
7372
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fidèle fidèles
Definition Qui garde sa foi, à l’égard d’une personne ou d’une idée, qui est constant dans les affections, qui remplit ses devoirs, ses engagements. Pluriel de fidèle.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fidèle and fidèles apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
fidèle
7 ch
fidèles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

fidèle and fidèles 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) - “fidèle” sits inside “fidèles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fidèle is recorded at frequency rank #3,138, classified as anadj, pronounced \fi.dɛl\. fidèles is at rank #4,234, 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 7372, this pair ranks #423,370 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fidèle vs fidèles

Shared letters: defilè. Private to "fidèle": -. Private to "fidèles": s.

"fidèle" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "fidèles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

fidèle#3,138
fidèles#4,234

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fidèle" and "fidèles" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “fidèle” sits inside “fidèles”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "fidèle" or "fidèles"?
"fidèle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,138 in our French list, against #4,234 for "fidèles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fidèle vs fidèles

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 “fidèle” 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