oncesvsonzeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: onces is a noun, onze is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#42,500
“onces” frequency rank
#3,783
“onze” frequency rank
46283
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature onces onze
Definition Pluriel de once. Dix plus un, adjectif numéral cardinal correspondant au nombre 11.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set onces and onze apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
onces
4 ch
onze

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: onces is \ɔ̃s\ while onze is ^((h aspiré))\ɔ̃z\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

onces is recorded at frequency rank #42,500, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɔ̃s\. onze is at rank #3,783, tagged as anadj, pronounced ^((h aspiré))\ɔ̃z\.

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 46283, this pair ranks #196,155 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of onces vs onze

Shared letters: eno. Private to "onces": cs. Private to "onze": z.

"onces" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "onze" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • oncesocnes · oncces · oncess · oncse · onecs · onnces
  • onzenoze · onez · onnze · onzze

Frequency comparison

onces#42,500
onze#3,783

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "onces" and "onze" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "onces" is a noun and "onze" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "onces" or "onze"?
"onze" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,783 in our French list, against #42,500 for "onces". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering onces vs onze

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “onces”; for an adjective, it's “onze”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “onces” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list