Which to use
“métropole” and “métropoles” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,165
- “métropole” frequency rank
- #17,490
- “métropoles” frequency rank
- 21655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | métropole | métropoles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ville ayant fondé, au-delà des mers, une ou plusieurs autres colonies. | Pluriel de métropole. |
Same sound, different letters: métropole vs métropoles
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters. métropole runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against métropoles's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - métropole / métropoles
This is the hard kind. métropole and métropoles are pronounced identically (\me.tʁɔ.pɔl\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “métropole” sits inside “métropoles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
métropole is recorded at frequency rank #4,165, classified as anoun, pronounced \me.tʁɔ.pɔl\. métropoles is at rank #17,490, tagged as anoun, pronounced \me.tʁɔ.pɔl\.
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 21655, this pair ranks #362,094 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of métropole vs métropoles
Shared letters: elmoprté. Private to "métropole": -. Private to "métropoles": s.
"métropole" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "métropoles" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "métropole" and "métropoles" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "métropole" vs "métropoles" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
"métropole" and "métropoles" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "métropole" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "métropoles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #362,094 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
Confusion rank #362,094 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.