Which to use
“idoles” and “isles” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,647
- “idoles” frequency rank
- #36,912
- “isles” frequency rank
- 52559
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | idoles | isles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de idole. | Pluriel de isle. |
Where the eye mixes idoles and isles
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. idoles runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against isles's 5 (VCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: idoles vs isles
A purely visual mix-up. idoles (\i.dɔl\) and isles (\il\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52559, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
idoles is recorded at frequency rank #15,647, classified as anoun, pronounced \i.dɔl\. isles is at rank #36,912, tagged as anoun, pronounced \il\.
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 52559, this pair ranks #146,899 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of idoles vs isles
Shared letters: eils. Private to "idoles": do. Private to "isles": -.
"idoles" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "isles" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "idoles" for "isles" ever safe?
Frequency check: "idoles" vs "isles" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "idoles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #146,899 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "idoles" and "isles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "isles vs ives". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #146,899 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.