matricevsmotricesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: matrice is a noun, motrices is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“matrice” is a noun and “motrices” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,536
“matrice” frequency rank
#18,260
“motrices” frequency rank
28796
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature matrice motrices
Definition Utérus, organe creux qui, chez les femmes et les femelles des mammifères, contient le produit de la conception jusqu’à la mise au monde. Féminin pluriel de moteur.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
matrice
8 ch
motrices

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: matrice is \ma.tʁis\ while motrices is \mɔ.tʁis\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

matrice is recorded at frequency rank #10,536, classified as anoun, pronounced \ma.tʁis\. motrices is at rank #18,260, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɔ.tʁis\.

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 28796, this pair ranks #320,672 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matrice vs motrices

Shared letters: ceimrt. Private to "matrice": a. Private to "motrices": os.

"matrice" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "motrices" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • matriceamtrice · martice · matirce · matrcie · matricce · matriec · matrrice · mattrice
  • motricesmmotrices · mortices · motirces · motrcies · motricces · motricess · motricse · motriecs

Frequency comparison

matrice#10,536
motrices#18,260

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "matrice" and "motrices" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "matrice" is a noun and "motrices" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "matrice" or "motrices"?
"matrice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,536 in our French list, against #18,260 for "motrices". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering matrice vs motrices

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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