nuisible vs nuisibles, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#16,425
“nuisible” frequency rank: #15,950
“nuisibles” frequency rank: 32375
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	nuisible	nuisibles
Definition	Qui porte dommage ; qui nuit.	Pluriel de nuisible.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nuisible and nuisibles apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

nuisible

9 ch

nuisibles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. nuisible and nuisibles are pronounced identically (\nɥi.zibl\) 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) - “nuisible” sits inside “nuisibles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32375, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nuisible is recorded at frequency rank #16,425, classified as anadj, pronounced \nɥi.zibl\. nuisibles is at rank #15,950, tagged as anadj, pronounced \nɥi.zibl\.

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 32375, this pair ranks #297,711 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of nuisible vs nuisibles

Shared letters: beilnsu. Private to "nuisible": -. Private to "nuisibles": -.

"nuisible" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV · "nuisibles" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

nuisible ← niusible · nnuisible · nuiisble · nuisbile · nuisibble · nuisibel · nuisiblle · nuisilbe
nuisibles ← niusibles · nnuisibles · nuiisbles · nuisbiles · nuisibbles · nuisibels · nuisibless · nuisiblles

Frequency comparison

nuisible#16,425

nuisibles#15,950

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nuisible" and "nuisibles" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\nɥi.zibl\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Which is more common, "nuisible" or "nuisibles"?

"nuisibles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,950 in our French list, against #16,425 for "nuisible". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nuisible vs nuisibles

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “nuisible” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable