franchesvsfranchiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: franches is a adjective, franchi is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“franches” is an adjective and “franchi” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,866
“franches” frequency rank
#9,841
“franchi” frequency rank
32707
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature franches franchi
Definition Féminin pluriel de franc (dans le sens de « libre, vrai, sincère, exempt de taxes, etc. »). Participe passé masculin singulier de franchir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set franches and franchi apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
franches
7 ch
franchi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

franches and franchi form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

franches is recorded at frequency rank #22,866, classified as anadj, pronounced \fʁɑ̃ʃ\. franchi is at rank #9,841, tagged as averb, pronounced \fʁɑ̃.ʃi\.

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 32707, this pair ranks #295,468 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

franches#22,866
franchi#9,841

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "franches" and "franchi" be used interchangeably?
No, "franches" and "franchi" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering franches vs franchi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “franches”; for a verb, it's “franchi”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “franches” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list