Which to use
“icône” and “icônes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,173
- “icône” frequency rank
- #19,311
- “icônes” frequency rank
- 29484
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | icône | icônes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Image sainte, le plus souvent peinte sur bois, qui est vénérée dans l'Église d'Orient. | Pluriel de icône. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set icône and icônes apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. icône and icônes are pronounced identically (\i.kon\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “icône” sits inside “icônes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29484, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
icône is recorded at frequency rank #10,173, classified as anoun, pronounced \i.kon\. icônes is at rank #19,311, tagged as anoun, pronounced \i.kon\.
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 29484, this pair ranks #316,400 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of icône vs icônes
Shared letters: ceinô. Private to "icône": -. Private to "icônes": s.
"icône" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "icônes" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "icône" and "icônes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "icône" or "icônes"?
Remembering icône vs icônes
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 “icône” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable