médiévalevsmédiévauxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,202
“médiévale” frequency rank
#31,618
“médiévaux” frequency rank
43820
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature médiévale médiévaux
Definition Féminin singulier de médiéval. Masculin pluriel de médiéval.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
médiévale
9 ch
médiévaux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. médiévale (\me.dje.val\) and médiévaux (\me.dje.vo\) 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 43820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

médiévale is recorded at frequency rank #12,202, classified as anadj, pronounced \me.dje.val\. médiévaux is at rank #31,618, tagged as anadj, pronounced \me.dje.vo\.

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 43820, this pair ranks #215,137 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of médiévale vs médiévaux

Shared letters: adimvé. Private to "médiévale": el. Private to "médiévaux": ux.

"médiévale" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCV  ·  "médiévaux" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVVC

Frequency comparison

médiévale#12,202
médiévaux#31,618

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "médiévale" and "médiévaux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\me.dje.val\ versus \me.dje.vo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "médiévale" or "médiévaux"?
"médiévale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,202 in our French list, against #31,618 for "médiévaux". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering médiévale vs médiévaux

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 “médiévale” 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