intérimaire vs intérimaires, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#19,322
“intérimaire” frequency rank: #33,740
“intérimaires” frequency rank: 53062
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	intérimaire	intérimaires
Definition	Qui a lieu par intérim.	Pluriel de intérimaire.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intérimaire and intérimaires apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch

intérimaire

12 ch

intérimaires

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. intérimaire and intérimaires are pronounced identically (\ɛ̃.te.ʁi.mɛʁ\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “intérimaire” sits inside “intérimaires”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intérimaire is recorded at frequency rank #19,322, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.te.ʁi.mɛʁ\. intérimaires is at rank #33,740, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.te.ʁi.mɛʁ\.

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 53062, this pair ranks #143,365 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of intérimaire vs intérimaires

Shared letters: aeimnrté. Private to "intérimaire": -. Private to "intérimaires": s.

"intérimaire" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVCV · "intérimaires" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

intérimaire#19,322

intérimaires#33,740

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intérimaire" and "intérimaires" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\ɛ̃.te.ʁi.mɛʁ\), 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, "intérimaire" or "intérimaires"?

"intérimaire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,322 in our French list, against #33,740 for "intérimaires". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering intérimaire vs intérimaires

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 “intérimaire” entry
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