langervslanguesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: langer is a verb, langues is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“langer” is a verb and “langues” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,889
“langer” frequency rank
#1,999
“langues” frequency rank
40888
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature langer langues
Definition Mettre une couche à un bébé. Pluriel de langue.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set langer and langues apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
langer
7 ch
langues

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: langer is \lɑ̃.ʒe\ while langues is \lɑ̃ɡ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40888, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

langer is recorded at frequency rank #38,889, classified as averb, pronounced \lɑ̃.ʒe\. langues is at rank #1,999, tagged as anoun, pronounced \lɑ̃ɡ\.

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 40888, this pair ranks #237,164 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of langer vs langues

Shared letters: aegln. Private to "langer": r. Private to "langues": su.

"langer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "langues" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • langeralnger · lagner · lanegr · langerr · langger · langre · lannger · llanger
  • languesalngues · lagnues · langeus · langgues · languess · languse · lanngues · lanuges

Frequency comparison

langer#38,889
langues#1,999

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "langer" and "langues" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "langer" is a verb and "langues" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "langer" or "langues"?
"langues" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,999 in our French list, against #38,889 for "langer". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering langer vs langues

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “langer”; for a noun, it's “langues”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “langer” 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