fourchettevsfourchettesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,505
“fourchette” frequency rank
#33,269
“fourchettes” frequency rank
43774
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fourchette fourchettes
Definition Ustensile de table, en forme de petite fourche qui a deux, trois ou quatre pointes ou dents par le bout, et dont on se sert pour piquer les aliments. Pluriel de fourchette.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fourchette and fourchettes apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
fourchette
11 ch
fourchettes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. fourchette and fourchettes are pronounced identically (\fuʁ.ʃɛt\) 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) - “fourchette” sits inside “fourchettes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43774, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fourchette is recorded at frequency rank #10,505, classified as anoun, pronounced \fuʁ.ʃɛt\. fourchettes is at rank #33,269, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fuʁ.ʃɛt\.

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 43774, this pair ranks #215,510 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fourchette vs fourchettes

Shared letters: cefhortu. Private to "fourchette": -. Private to "fourchettes": s.

"fourchette" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCCVCCV  ·  "fourchettes" · 11 letters · shape CVVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fourchetteffourchette · foruchette · foucrhette · fourcchette · fourcehtte · fourchete · fourchetet · fourchhette
  • fourchettesffourchettes · foruchettes · foucrhettes · fourcchettes · fourcehttes · fourchetes · fourchetets · fourchettess

Frequency comparison

fourchette#10,505
fourchettes#33,269

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fourchette" and "fourchettes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\fuʁ.ʃɛt\), 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, "fourchette" or "fourchettes"?
"fourchette" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,505 in our French list, against #33,269 for "fourchettes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fourchette vs fourchettes

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 “fourchette” 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