noblesvsnombresWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: nobles is a adjective, nombres is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“nobles” is an adjective and “nombres” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,466
“nobles” frequency rank
#5,789
“nombres” frequency rank
13255
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nobles nombres
Definition Pluriel de noble. Pluriel de nombre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nobles and nombres apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
nobles
7 ch
nombres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: nobles is \nɔbl\ while nombres is \nɔ̃bʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nobles is recorded at frequency rank #7,466, classified as anadj, pronounced \nɔbl\. nombres is at rank #5,789, tagged as anoun, pronounced \nɔ̃bʁ\.

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 13255, this pair ranks #401,782 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of nobles vs nombres

Shared letters: benos. Private to "nobles": l. Private to "nombres": mr.

"nobles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "nombres" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • noblesnboles · nnobles · nobbles · nobels · nobless · noblles · noblse · nolbes
  • nombresnmobres · nnombres · nobmres · nombbres · nombers · nombress · nombrres · nombrse

Frequency comparison

nobles#7,466
nombres#5,789

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nobles" and "nombres" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "nobles" is an adjective and "nombres" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "nobles" or "nombres"?
"nombres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,789 in our French list, against #7,466 for "nobles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nobles vs nombres

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “nobles”; for a noun, it's “nombres”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nobles” 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