Which to use
“ministère” and “ministres” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,035
- “ministère” frequency rank
- #2,433
- “ministres” frequency rank
- 3468
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ministère | ministres |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Emploi ou charge qu’on exerce. | Pluriel de ministre. |
Where the eye mixes ministère and ministres
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ministère (CVCVCCVCV) and ministres (CVCVCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: ministère vs ministres
A purely visual mix-up. ministère (\mi.nis.tɛʁ\) and ministres (\mi.nistʁ\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3468, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ministère is recorded at frequency rank #1,035, classified as anoun, pronounced \mi.nis.tɛʁ\. ministres is at rank #2,433, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mi.nistʁ\.
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 3468, this pair ranks #433,954 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ministère vs ministres
Shared letters: eimnrst. Private to "ministère": è. Private to "ministres": -.
"ministère" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "ministres" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ministres ← imnistres · miinstres · minisrtes · minisstres · ministers · ministress · ministrres · ministrse
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ministère" and "ministres" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ministère" or "ministres"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ministère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ministres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #433,954 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ministère" and "ministres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "minister vs ministres". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #433,954 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.