Which to use
“métropolitain” and “métropolitains” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,691
- “métropolitain” frequency rank
- #33,364
- “métropolitains” frequency rank
- 49055
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | métropolitain | métropolitains |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Relatif à une métropole, c’est-à-dire une grande ville, ou un groupement de communes au sens administratif français. | Masculin pluriel de métropolitain. |
Same sound, different letters: métropolitain vs métropolitains
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 13 letters. métropolitain runs 13 letters (CVCCVCVCVCVVC) against métropolitains's 14 (CVCCVCVCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - métropolitain / métropolitains
This is the hard kind. métropolitain and métropolitains are pronounced identically (\met.ʁɔ.pɔ.li.tɛ̃\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “métropolitain” sits inside “métropolitains”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
métropolitain is recorded at frequency rank #15,691, classified as anadj, pronounced \met.ʁɔ.pɔ.li.tɛ̃\. métropolitains is at rank #33,364, tagged as anadj, pronounced \met.ʁɔ.pɔ.li.tɛ̃\.
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 49055, this pair ranks #173,833 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of métropolitain vs métropolitains
Shared letters: ailmnoprté. Private to "métropolitain": -. Private to "métropolitains": s.
"métropolitain" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVVC · "métropolitains" · 14 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "métropolitain" for "métropolitains" ever safe?
Frequency check: "métropolitain" vs "métropolitains" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "métropolitain" / "métropolitains". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "métropolitain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "métropolitains" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #173,833 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "métropolitain" and "métropolitains" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "métropolitaines vs métropolitains". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #173,833 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.