Which to use
“inférieure” is a noun and “inférieures” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,338
- “inférieure” frequency rank
- #11,075
- “inférieures” frequency rank
- 15413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inférieure | inférieures |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Celle qui est située en-dessous. | Féminin pluriel de inférieur. |
Same sound, different letters: inférieure vs inférieures
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 10 letters. inférieure runs 10 letters (VCCVCVVVCV) against inférieures's 11 (VCCVCVVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: inférieure vs inférieures
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: inférieure and inférieures carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ɛ̃.fe.ʁjœʁ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “inférieure” sits inside “inférieures”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inférieure is recorded at frequency rank #4,338, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.fe.ʁjœʁ\. inférieures is at rank #11,075, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.fe.ʁjœʁ\.
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 15413, this pair ranks #392,462 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of inférieure vs inférieures
Shared letters: efinrué. Private to "inférieure": -. Private to "inférieures": s.
"inférieure" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVVCV · "inférieures" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "inférieure" for "inférieures" ever safe?
Which is more common, "inférieure" or "inférieures"?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "inférieure" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "inférieures" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #392,462 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inférieure" and "inférieures" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inférieure vs ingénieure". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #392,462 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.