fillesvsfiltresConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#723
“filles” frequency rank
#12,571
“filtres” frequency rank
13294
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature filles filtres
Definition Pluriel de fille. Pluriel de filtre.

Where the eye mixes filles and filtres

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. filles runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against filtres's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
filles
7 ch
filtres

Visual trap between filles and filtres

A purely visual mix-up. filles (\fij\) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

filles is recorded at frequency rank #723, classified as anoun, pronounced \fij\. 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 13294, this pair ranks #401,598 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of filles vs filtres

Shared letters: efils. Private to "filles": -. Private to "filtres": rt.

"filles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "filtres" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • filles ← ffilles · filels · filless · fillse · fliles · iflles
  • filtres ← ffiltres · filltres · filrtes · filters · filtress · filtrres · filtrse · filttres

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "filles" and "filtres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fij\ versus \filtʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "filles" vs "filtres" - which ranks higher?
"filles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #723 in our French list, against #12,571 for "filtres". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "filles" 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 #401,598 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "filles" 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 #401,598 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