licornevslicornesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,966
“licorne” frequency rank
#32,046
“licornes” frequency rank
47012
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature licorne licornes
Definition Quadrupède fabuleux, ressemblant à une biche portant une corne au milieu du front, à queue de lion et barbiche de chèvre, dont il est souvent question dans les bestiaires et les légendes du Moyen Âge. Pluriel de licorne.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set licorne and licornes apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
licorne
8 ch
licornes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

licorne and licornes form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “licorne” sits inside “licornes” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

licorne is recorded at frequency rank #14,966, classified as anoun, pronounced \li.kɔʁn\. licornes is at rank #32,046, tagged as anoun, pronounced \li.kɔʁn\.

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 47012, this pair ranks #190,342 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

licorne#14,966
licornes#32,046

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "licorne" and "licornes" be used interchangeably?
No, "licorne" and "licornes" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering licorne vs licornes

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 “licorne” 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