figuevsfiguesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,844
“figue” frequency rank
#28,559
“figues” frequency rank
65403
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature figue figues
Definition Faux-fruit comestible du figuier, issu de l’inflorescence contenant des akènes qui sont les fruits proprement dits, contenus dans une pulpe molle et sucrée. Pluriel de figue.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set figue and figues apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
figue
6 ch
figues

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. figue and figues are pronounced identically (\fiɡ\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “figue” sits inside “figues”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65403, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

figue is recorded at frequency rank #36,844, classified as anoun, pronounced \fiɡ\. figues is at rank #28,559, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fiɡ\.

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 65403, this pair ranks #72,512 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of figue vs figues

Shared letters: efgiu. Private to "figue": -. Private to "figues": s.

"figue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "figues" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • figueffigue · fgiue · figeu · figgue · fiuge · ifgue
  • figuesffigues · fgiues · figeus · figgues · figuess · figuse · fiuges · ifgues

Frequency comparison

figue#36,844
figues#28,559

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "figue" and "figues" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\fiɡ\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "figue" or "figues"?
"figues" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,559 in our French list, against #36,844 for "figue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering figue vs figues

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 “figue” 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