illisiblesvsinvisiblesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,140
“illisibles” frequency rank
#13,818
“invisibles” frequency rank
62958
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature illisibles invisibles
Definition Pluriel de illisible. Pluriel de invisible.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set illisibles and invisibles apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
illisibles
10 ch
invisibles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. illisibles (\i(l).li.zibl\) and invisibles (\ɛ̃.vi.zibl\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62958, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

illisibles is recorded at frequency rank #49,140, classified as anadj, pronounced \i(l).li.zibl\. invisibles is at rank #13,818, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.vi.zibl\.

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 62958, this pair ranks #84,366 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of illisibles vs invisibles

Shared letters: beils. Private to "illisibles": -. Private to "invisibles": nv.

"illisibles" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC  ·  "invisibles" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • illisiblesililsibles · ilisibles · illiisbles · illisbiles · illisibbles · illisibels · illisibless · illisiblles
  • invisiblesinivsibles · innvisibles · inviisbles · invisbiles · invisibbles · invisibels · invisibless · invisiblles

Frequency comparison

illisibles#49,140
invisibles#13,818

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "illisibles" and "invisibles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\i(l).li.zibl\ versus \ɛ̃.vi.zibl\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "illisibles" or "invisibles"?
"invisibles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,818 in our French list, against #49,140 for "illisibles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering illisibles vs invisibles

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 “illisibles” 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