interférencevsinterférencesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,367
“interférence” frequency rank
#26,413
“interférences” frequency rank
51780
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature interférence interférences
Definition Phénomène dans lequel deux vibrations s’annulent en se superposant. Pluriel de interférence.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set interférence and interférences apart are highlighted. They share 12 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
interférence
13 ch
interférences

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. interférence and interférences are pronounced identically (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.fe.ʁɑ̃s\) 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) - “interférence” sits inside “interférences”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

interférence is recorded at frequency rank #25,367, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.fe.ʁɑ̃s\. interférences is at rank #26,413, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.fe.ʁɑ̃s\.

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 51780, this pair ranks #152,530 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of interférence vs interférences

Shared letters: cefinrté. Private to "interférence": -. Private to "interférences": s.

"interférence" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCV  ·  "interférences" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

interférence#25,367
interférences#26,413

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "interférence" and "interférences" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.fe.ʁɑ̃s\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "interférence" or "interférences"?
"interférence" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,367 in our French list, against #26,413 for "interférences". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering interférence vs interférences

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 “interférence” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list