flamevsflammesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: flame is a verb, flammes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“flame” is a verb and “flammes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,462
“flame” frequency rank
#5,868
“flammes” frequency rank
50330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature flame flammes
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe flamer. Pluriel de flamme.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
flame
7 ch
flammes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: flame and flammes carry the same recorded pronunciation, \flam\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

flame is recorded at frequency rank #44,462, classified as averb, pronounced \flam\. flammes is at rank #5,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced \flam\.

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 50330, this pair ranks #163,479 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of flame vs flammes

Shared letters: aeflm. Private to "flame": -. Private to "flammes": s.

"flame" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "flammes" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • flamefalme · fflame · flaem · fllame · flmae · lfame
  • flammesfalmmes · fflammes · flamems · flames · flammess · flammse · fllammes · flmames

Frequency comparison

flame#44,462
flammes#5,868

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "flame" and "flammes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "flame" is a verb and "flammes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "flame" or "flammes"?
"flammes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,868 in our French list, against #44,462 for "flame". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering flame vs flammes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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