gourmandvsgourmandesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,894
“gourmand” frequency rank
#38,826
“gourmandes” frequency rank
55720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gourmand gourmandes
Definition Qui mange avec avidité et parfois avec excès. Féminin pluriel de gourmand.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gourmand and gourmandes apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gourmand
10 ch
gourmandes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. gourmand (\ɡuʁ.mɑ̃\) and gourmandes (\ɡuʁ.mɑ̃d\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “gourmand” sits inside “gourmandes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gourmand is recorded at frequency rank #16,894, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɡuʁ.mɑ̃\. gourmandes is at rank #38,826, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɡuʁ.mɑ̃d\.

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 55720, this pair ranks #125,641 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gourmand vs gourmandes

Shared letters: adgmnoru. Private to "gourmand": -. Private to "gourmandes": es.

"gourmand" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC  ·  "gourmandes" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gourmandggourmand · gorumand · goumrand · gouramnd · gourmadn · gourmandd · gourmannd · gourmmand
  • gourmandesggourmandes · gorumandes · goumrandes · gouramndes · gourmadnes · gourmanddes · gourmandess · gourmandse

Frequency comparison

gourmand#16,894
gourmandes#38,826

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gourmand" and "gourmandes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɡuʁ.mɑ̃\ versus \ɡuʁ.mɑ̃d\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gourmand" or "gourmandes"?
"gourmand" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,894 in our French list, against #38,826 for "gourmandes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gourmand vs gourmandes

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 “gourmand” 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