HollandaisvshollandaiseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,669
“Hollandais” frequency rank
#20,460
“hollandaise” frequency rank
30129
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Hollandais hollandaise
Definition Habitant d’une des provinces de Hollande-Septentrionale ou de Hollande-Méridionale aux Pays-Bas ; anciennement, habitant du comté ou de la province de Hollande. Espèce de machine d’épuisement.

Where the spellings diverge

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

10 ch
Hollandais
11 ch
hollandaise

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Hollandais (^((h aspiré))\ɔ.lɑ̃.dɛ\) and hollandaise (^((h aspiré))\ɔ.lɑ̃.dɛz\) 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 extra letter(s) - “Hollandais” sits inside “hollandaise”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30129, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Hollandais is recorded at frequency rank #9,669, classified as anoun, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɔ.lɑ̃.dɛ\. hollandaise is at rank #20,460, tagged as anoun, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɔ.lɑ̃.dɛz\.

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 30129, this pair ranks #312,322 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Hollandais vs hollandaise

Shared letters: adhilnos. Private to "Hollandais": -. Private to "hollandaise": e.

"Hollandais" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC  ·  "hollandaise" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Hollandaishhollandais · hlolandais · holalndais · holandais · holladnais · hollanadis · hollandaiss · hollandasi
  • hollandaisehhollandaise · hlolandaise · holalndaise · holandaise · holladnaise · hollanadise · hollandaies · hollandaisse

Frequency comparison

Hollandais#9,669
hollandaise#20,460

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Hollandais" and "hollandaise" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (^((h aspiré))\ɔ.lɑ̃.dɛ\ versus ^((h aspiré))\ɔ.lɑ̃.dɛz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Hollandais" or "hollandaise"?
"Hollandais" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,669 in our French list, against #20,460 for "hollandaise". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Hollandais vs hollandaise

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 “Hollandais” 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