nymphevsnymphesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,721
“nymphe” frequency rank
#37,450
“nymphes” frequency rank
68171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature nymphe nymphes
Definition Divinité féminine grecque d’un rang inférieur qui hante les fleuves, les sources, les bois, les montagnes, les prairies, les mers, etc., et personnifie les forces vives de la nature. Pluriel de nymphe.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set nymphe and nymphes apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
nymphe
7 ch
nymphes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. nymphe and nymphes are pronounced identically (\nɛ̃f\) and both work as anoun. 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) - “nymphe” sits inside “nymphes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

nymphe is recorded at frequency rank #30,721, classified as anoun, pronounced \nɛ̃f\. nymphes is at rank #37,450, tagged as anoun, pronounced \nɛ̃f\.

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 68171, this pair ranks #60,266 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of nymphe vs nymphes

Shared letters: ehmnpy. Private to "nymphe": -. Private to "nymphes": s.

"nymphe" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "nymphes" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • nymphenmyphe · nnymphe · nymhpe · nymmphe · nympeh · nymphhe · nympphe · nypmhe
  • nymphesnmyphes · nnymphes · nymhpes · nymmphes · nympehs · nymphess · nymphhes · nymphse

Frequency comparison

nymphe#30,721
nymphes#37,450

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "nymphe" and "nymphes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\nɛ̃f\), 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, "nymphe" or "nymphes"?
"nymphe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,721 in our French list, against #37,450 for "nymphes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering nymphe vs nymphes

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 “nymphe” 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