Which to use
“humble” and “humbles” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,973
- “humble” frequency rank
- #26,041
- “humbles” frequency rank
- 34014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | humble | humbles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui manifeste de l’humilité, une extrême modestie, qui s'abaisse volontairement. | Pluriel de humble. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set humble and humbles apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. humble (^((h muet))\œ̃bl\) and humbles (\œ̃bl\) 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) - “humble” sits inside “humbles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
humble is recorded at frequency rank #7,973, classified as anadj, pronounced ^((h muet))\œ̃bl\. humbles is at rank #26,041, tagged as anadj, pronounced \œ̃bl\.
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 34014, this pair ranks #286,726 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of humble vs humbles
Shared letters: behlmu. Private to "humble": -. Private to "humbles": s.
"humble" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "humbles" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "humble" and "humbles" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "humble" or "humbles"?
Remembering humble vs humbles
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 “humble” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable