figuresvsfiltresConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,940
“figures” frequency rank
#12,571
“filtres” frequency rank
17511
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature figures filtres
Definition Pluriel de figure. Pluriel de filtre.

Where the eye mixes figures and filtres

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. figures (CVCVCVC) and filtres (CVCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
figures
7 ch
filtres

Look-alike desk: figures vs filtres

A purely visual mix-up. figures (\fi.ɡyʁ\) and filtres (\filtʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

figures is recorded at frequency rank #4,940, classified as anoun, pronounced \fi.ɡyʁ\. filtres is at rank #12,571, tagged as anoun, pronounced \filtʁ\.

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 17511, this pair ranks #382,809 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of figures vs filtres

Shared letters: efirs. Private to "figures": gu. Private to "filtres": lt.

"figures" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "filtres" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • figures ← ffigures · fgiures · figgures · figrues · figuers · figuress · figurres · figurse
  • filtres ← ffiltres · filltres · filrtes · filters · filtress · filtrres · filtrse · filttres

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "figures" and "filtres" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\fi.ɡyʁ\ versus \filtʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "figures" or "filtres" show up more?
"figures" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,940 in our French list, against #12,571 for "filtres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "figures" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "filtres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #382,809 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "figures" and "filtres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filatures vs filtres". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #382,809 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list