frontalières vs frontières, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“frontalières” is an adjective and “frontières” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,407
“frontalières” frequency rank: #2,777
“frontières” frequency rank: 39184
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	frontalières	frontières
Definition	Féminin pluriel de frontalier.	Pluriel de frontière.

Where the spellings diverge

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

12 ch

frontalières

10 ch

frontières

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: frontalières is \fʁɔ̃.ta.ljɛʁ\ while frontières is \fʁɔ̃.tjɛʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

frontalières is recorded at frequency rank #36,407, classified as anadj, pronounced \fʁɔ̃.ta.ljɛʁ\. frontières is at rank #2,777, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fʁɔ̃.tjɛʁ\.

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 39184, this pair ranks #249,870 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of frontalières vs frontières

Shared letters: efinorstè. Private to "frontalières": al. Private to "frontières": -.

"frontalières" · 12 letters · shape CCVCCVCVVCVC · "frontières" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

frontalières#36,407

frontières#2,777

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "frontalières" and "frontières" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "frontalières" is an adjective and "frontières" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "frontalières" or "frontières"?

"frontières" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,777 in our French list, against #36,407 for "frontalières". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering frontalières vs frontières

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “frontalières”; for a noun, it's “frontières”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “frontalières” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable