légalevslégalesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,249
“légale” frequency rank
#8,265
“légales” frequency rank
12514
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature légale légales
Definition Féminin singulier de légal. Féminin pluriel de légal.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set légale and légales apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
légale
7 ch
légales

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. légale and légales are pronounced identically (\le.ɡal\) 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) - “légale” sits inside “légales”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12514, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

légale is recorded at frequency rank #4,249, classified as anadj, pronounced \le.ɡal\. légales is at rank #8,265, tagged as anadj, pronounced \le.ɡal\.

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 12514, this pair ranks #404,956 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of légale vs légales

Shared letters: aeglé. Private to "légale": -. Private to "légales": s.

"légale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "légales" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

légale#4,249
légales#8,265

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "légale" and "légales" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\le.ɡal\), 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, "légale" or "légales"?
"légale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,249 in our French list, against #8,265 for "légales". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering légale vs légales

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 “légale” 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