gemmevsgommesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,963
“gemme” frequency rank
#39,322
“gommes” frequency rank
75285
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gemme gommes
Definition Pierre fine, pierre précieuse, pierre ornementale ou synthétique répondant à des critères de dureté, d’éclat, de couleur et de transparence. Pluriel de gomme.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gemme and gommes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
gemme
6 ch
gommes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gemme (\ʒɛm\) and gommes (\ɡɔm\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gemme is recorded at frequency rank #35,963, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʒɛm\. gommes is at rank #39,322, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡɔm\.

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 75285, this pair ranks #34,557 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gemme vs gommes

Shared letters: egm. Private to "gemme": -. Private to "gommes": os.

"gemme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "gommes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gemmeegmme · geme · gemem · ggemme · gmeme
  • gommesggommes · gmomes · gomems · gommess · gommse · ogmmes

Frequency comparison

gemme#35,963
gommes#39,322

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gemme" and "gommes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʒɛm\ versus \ɡɔm\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gemme" or "gommes"?
"gemme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,963 in our French list, against #39,322 for "gommes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gemme vs gommes

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 “gemme” 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