métropolitainevsmétropolitainesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,519
“métropolitaine” frequency rank
#37,444
“métropolitaines” frequency rank
46963
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature métropolitaine métropolitaines
Definition Féminin singulier de métropolitain. Féminin pluriel de métropolitain.

Same sound, different letters: métropolitaine vs métropolitaines

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 14 letters. métropolitaine runs 14 letters (CVCCVCVCVCVVCV) against métropolitaines's 15 (CVCCVCVCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

14 ch
métropolitaine
15 ch
métropolitaines

Same sound, different spelling - métropolitaine / métropolitaines

This is the hard kind. métropolitaine and métropolitaines are pronounced identically (\met.ʁɔ.pɔ.li.tɛn\) 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) - “métropolitaine” sits inside “métropolitaines”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

métropolitaine is recorded at frequency rank #9,519, classified as anadj, pronounced \met.ʁɔ.pɔ.li.tɛn\. métropolitaines is at rank #37,444, tagged as anadj, pronounced \met.ʁɔ.pɔ.li.tɛn\.

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 46963, this pair ranks #190,668 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of métropolitaine vs métropolitaines

Shared letters: aeilmnoprté. Private to "métropolitaine": -. Private to "métropolitaines": s.

"métropolitaine" · 14 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVVCV  ·  "métropolitaines" · 15 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "métropolitaine" and "métropolitaines" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are pronounced the same (\met.ʁɔ.pɔ.li.tɛn\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Frequency check: "métropolitaine" vs "métropolitaines" - which ranks higher?
"métropolitaine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,519 in our French list, against #37,444 for "métropolitaines". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.

  • Full dictionary entry for "métropolitaine" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "métropolitaines" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #190,668 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "métropolitaine" and "métropolitaines" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "métropolitaines vs métropolitains". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #190,668 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list