handicapésvshandicapsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: handicapés is a adjective, handicaps is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#9,491
“handicapés” frequency rank
#26,034
“handicaps” frequency rank
35525
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature handicapés handicaps
Definition Masculin pluriel de handicapé. Pluriel de handicap.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set handicapés and handicaps apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
handicapés
9 ch
handicaps

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: handicapés is ^((h aspiré))\ɑ̃.di.ka.pe\ while handicaps is ^((h aspiré))\ɑ̃.di.kap\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 35525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

handicapés is recorded at frequency rank #9,491, classified as anadj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɑ̃.di.ka.pe\. handicaps is at rank #26,034, tagged as anoun, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɑ̃.di.kap\.

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 35525, this pair ranks #276,128 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of handicapés vs handicaps

Shared letters: acdhinps. Private to "handicapés": é. Private to "handicaps": -.

"handicapés" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC  ·  "handicaps" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • handicapsahndicaps · hadnicaps · handciaps · handdicaps · handiacps · handicapps · handicapss · handicasp

Frequency comparison

handicapés#9,491
handicaps#26,034

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "handicapés" and "handicaps" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "handicapés" is an adjective and "handicaps" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "handicapés" or "handicaps"?
"handicapés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,491 in our French list, against #26,034 for "handicaps". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering handicapés vs handicaps

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “handicapés”; for a noun, it's “handicaps”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “handicapés” 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