heurevsheuresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#346
“heure” frequency rank
#347
“heures” frequency rank
693
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature heure heures
Definition Unité de mesure du temps, compatible avec le Système international, dérivée de la seconde, dont le symbole est h. 1 heure = 60 minutes = 3600 secondes. Heures canoniales.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set heure and heures apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
heure
6 ch
heures

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

heure and heures 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 extra letter(s) - “heure” sits inside “heures” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 693, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

heure is recorded at frequency rank #346, classified as anoun, pronounced ^((h muet))\œʁ\. heures is at rank #347, tagged as anoun, pronounced ^((h muet))\œʁ\.

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 693, this pair ranks #439,268 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

heure#346
heures#347

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "heure" and "heures" be used interchangeably?
No, "heure" and "heures" 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 heure vs heures

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 “heure” 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