hospicevshospicesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,858
“hospice” frequency rank
#34,120
“hospices” frequency rank
53978
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hospice hospices
Definition Établissement public ou privé où l’on reçoit et entretient, soit gratuitement, soit pour une rétribution peu élevée, des enfants, des infirmes ou des vieillards hors d’état de subvenir à leurs propres besoins. Pluriel de hospice.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hospice and hospices apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
hospice
8 ch
hospices

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

hospice and hospices 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) - “hospice” sits inside “hospices” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hospice is recorded at frequency rank #19,858, classified as anoun, pronounced ^((h muet))\ɔs.pis\. hospices is at rank #34,120, tagged as anoun, pronounced ^((h muet))\ɔs.pis\.

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 53978, this pair ranks #137,140 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

hospice#19,858
hospices#34,120

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hospice" and "hospices" be used interchangeably?
No, "hospice" and "hospices" 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 hospice vs hospices

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 “hospice” 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