Which to use
“pathogène” and “pathogènes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,645
- “pathogène” frequency rank
- #27,558
- “pathogènes” frequency rank
- 59203
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pathogène | pathogènes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui provoque des maladies. | Pluriel de pathogène. |
Same sound, different letters: pathogène vs pathogènes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters. pathogène runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCV) against pathogènes's 10 (CVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - pathogène / pathogènes
This is the hard kind. pathogène and pathogènes are pronounced identically (\pa.tɔ.ʒɛn\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “pathogène” sits inside “pathogènes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59203, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pathogène is recorded at frequency rank #31,645, classified as anadj, pronounced \pa.tɔ.ʒɛn\. pathogènes is at rank #27,558, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pa.tɔ.ʒɛn\.
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 59203, this pair ranks #104,484 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pathogène vs pathogènes
Shared letters: aeghnoptè. Private to "pathogène": -. Private to "pathogènes": s.
"pathogène" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCV · "pathogènes" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pathogène" and "pathogènes" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "pathogène" or "pathogènes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "pathogène" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pathogènes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #104,484 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
Confusion rank #104,484 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.