Which to use
“fondamentale” is a noun and “fondamentales” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,059
- “fondamentale” frequency rank
- #9,835
- “fondamentales” frequency rank
- 16894
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fondamentale | fondamentales |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Note de référence d'un accord lui donnant son nom. À ne pas confondre avec la note la plus grave d'un accord : sa basse. Ces deux notions ne concordent que lorsque l'accord est présenté comme empilement de tierces, on dit alors qu'il est à l’état fondamental. | Féminin pluriel de fondamental. |
Same sound, different letters: fondamentale vs fondamentales
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 12 letters. fondamentale runs 12 letters (CVCCVCVCCVCV) against fondamentales's 13 (CVCCVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - fondamentale / fondamentales
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: fondamentale and fondamentales carry the same recorded pronunciation, \fɔ̃.da.mɑ̃.tal\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “fondamentale” sits inside “fondamentales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16894, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fondamentale is recorded at frequency rank #7,059, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃.da.mɑ̃.tal\. fondamentales is at rank #9,835, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fɔ̃.da.mɑ̃.tal\.
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 16894, this pair ranks #385,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fondamentale vs fondamentales
Shared letters: adeflmnot. Private to "fondamentale": -. Private to "fondamentales": s.
"fondamentale" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVCV · "fondamentales" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fondamentale ← ffondamentale · fnodamentale · fodnamentale · fonadmentale · fondaemntale · fondamenatle · fondamenntale · fondamentael
- fondamentales ← ffondamentales · fnodamentales · fodnamentales · fonadmentales · fondaemntales · fondamenatles · fondamenntales · fondamentaels
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fondamentale" for "fondamentales" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fondamentale" vs "fondamentales" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "fondamentale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fondamentales" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #385,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fondamentale" and "fondamentales" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fondamental vs fondamentales". 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 #385,747 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.