Which to use
“ordres” and “ordures” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,048
- “ordres” frequency rank
- #10,202
- “ordures” frequency rank
- 12250
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ordres | ordures |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de ordre. | Pluriel de ordure. |
Where the eye mixes ordres and ordures
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. ordres runs 6 letters (VCCCVC) against ordures's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ordres with ordures
A purely visual mix-up. ordres (\ɔʁdʁ\) and ordures (\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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12250, 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\. ordures is at rank #10,202, 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 12250, this pair ranks #406,014 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ordres vs ordures
Shared letters: deors. Private to "ordres": -. Private to "ordures": u.
"ordres" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "ordures" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ordres" for "ordures" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ordres" vs "ordures" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ordres" and "ordures" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ordres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ordures" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #406,014 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ordres" and "ordures" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ondulés vs ordures". 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 #406,014 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.