irréguliervsirrégulièresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,976
“irrégulier” frequency rank
#31,563
“irrégulières” frequency rank
53539
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature irrégulier irrégulières
Definition Qui n’est pas selon les règles, qui ne suit pas les règles. Féminin pluriel de irrégulier.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set irrégulier and irrégulières apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
irrégulier
12 ch
irrégulières

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. irrégulier (\i.ʁe.ɡy.lje\) and irrégulières (\i.ʁe.ɡy.ljɛʁ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53539, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

irrégulier is recorded at frequency rank #21,976, classified as anadj, pronounced \i.ʁe.ɡy.lje\. irrégulières is at rank #31,563, tagged as anadj, pronounced \i.ʁe.ɡy.ljɛʁ\.

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 53539, this pair ranks #140,043 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of irrégulier vs irrégulières

Shared letters: egilrué. Private to "irrégulier": -. Private to "irrégulières": .

"irrégulier" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVC  ·  "irrégulières" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

irrégulier#21,976
irrégulières#31,563

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "irrégulier" and "irrégulières" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\i.ʁe.ɡy.lje\ versus \i.ʁe.ɡy.ljɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "irrégulier" or "irrégulières"?
"irrégulier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,976 in our French list, against #31,563 for "irrégulières". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering irrégulier vs irrégulières

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 “irrégulier” 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