Which to use
“ordres” and “ordure” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,048
- “ordres” frequency rank
- #16,690
- “ordure” frequency rank
- 18738
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ordres | ordure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de ordre. | Tout ce qui est malpropre, immondice, crasse. |
Where the eye mixes ordres and ordure
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. ordres (VCCCVC) and ordure (VCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between ordres and ordure
A purely visual mix-up. ordres (\ɔʁdʁ\) and ordure (\ɔʁ.dyʁ\) 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 18738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ordres is recorded at frequency rank #2,048, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɔʁdʁ\. ordure is at rank #16,690, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɔʁ.dyʁ\.
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 18738, this pair ranks #376,830 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ordres vs ordure
Shared letters: deor. Private to "ordres": s. Private to "ordure": u.
"ordres" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "ordure" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ordres" and "ordure" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ordres" or "ordure"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ordres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ordure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #376,830 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ordres" and "ordure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ondulé vs ordure". 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 #376,830 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.