légalevslégauxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,249
“légale” frequency rank
#14,308
“légaux” frequency rank
18557
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature légale légaux
Definition Féminin singulier de légal. Masculin pluriel de légal.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set légale and légaux apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
légale
6 ch
légaux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. légale (\le.ɡal\) and légaux (\le.ɡo\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18557, 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\. légaux is at rank #14,308, tagged as anadj, pronounced \le.ɡo\.

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 18557, this pair ranks #377,713 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of légale vs légaux

Shared letters: aglé. Private to "légale": e. Private to "légaux": ux.

"légale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "légaux" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequency comparison

légale#4,249
légaux#14,308

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "légale" and "légaux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\le.ɡal\ versus \le.ɡo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "légale" or "légaux"?
"légale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,249 in our French list, against #14,308 for "légaux". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering légale vs légaux

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