Which to use
“maternelle” is a noun and “maternelles” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,426
- “maternelle” frequency rank
- #19,070
- “maternelles” frequency rank
- 23496
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maternelle | maternelles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | École ou niveau d'une école regroupant les jeunes enfants d’âge préscolaire. | Féminin pluriel de maternel. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maternelle and maternelles apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
maternelle and maternelles 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) - “maternelle” sits inside “maternelles” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maternelle is recorded at frequency rank #4,426, classified as anoun, pronounced \ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\. maternelles is at rank #19,070, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ma.tɛʁ.nɛl\.
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 23496, this pair ranks #352,174 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maternelle" and "maternelles" be used interchangeably?
Remembering maternelle vs maternelles
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “maternelle”; for an adjective, it's “maternelles”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maternelle” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable