parfuméevsparfumsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: parfumée is a adjective, parfums is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#32,946
“parfumée” frequency rank
#11,092
“parfums” frequency rank
44038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature parfumée parfums
Definition Féminin singulier de parfumé. Pluriel de parfum.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
parfumée
7 ch
parfums

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: parfumée is \paʁ.fy.me\ while parfums is \paʁ.fœ̃\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

parfumée is recorded at frequency rank #32,946, classified as anadj, pronounced \paʁ.fy.me\. parfums is at rank #11,092, tagged as anoun, pronounced \paʁ.fœ̃\.

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 44038, this pair ranks #213,505 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of parfumée vs parfums

Shared letters: afmpru. Private to "parfumée": . Private to "parfums": s.

"parfumée" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV  ·  "parfums" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • parfumsaprfums · pafrums · parffums · parfmus · parfumms · parfumss · parfusm · parrfums

Frequency comparison

parfumée#32,946
parfums#11,092

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "parfumée" and "parfums" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "parfumée" is an adjective and "parfums" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "parfumée" or "parfums"?
"parfums" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,092 in our French list, against #32,946 for "parfumée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering parfumée vs parfums

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “parfumée”; for a noun, it's “parfums”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “parfumée” 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