patrouillesvspatrouilleurWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“patrouilles” and “patrouilleur” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,200
“patrouilles” frequency rank
#44,085
“patrouilleur” frequency rank
60285
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature patrouilles patrouilleur
Definition Pluriel de patrouille. Soldat envoyé en patrouille.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set patrouilles and patrouilleur apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
patrouilles
12 ch
patrouilleur

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. patrouilles (\pa.tʁuj\) and patrouilleur (\pa.tʁu.jœʁ\) 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 60285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

patrouilles is recorded at frequency rank #16,200, classified as anoun, pronounced \pa.tʁuj\. patrouilleur is at rank #44,085, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pa.tʁu.jœʁ\.

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 60285, this pair ranks #98,454 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of patrouilles vs patrouilleur

Shared letters: aeiloprtu. Private to "patrouilles": s. Private to "patrouilleur": -.

"patrouilles" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVVCCVC  ·  "patrouilleur" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVVVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • patrouillesaptrouilles · partouilles · patoruilles · patroiulles · patrouilels · patrouiles · patrouilless · patrouillse
  • patrouilleuraptrouilleur · partouilleur · patoruilleur · patroiulleur · patrouilelur · patrouileur · patrouilleru · patrouilleurr

Frequency comparison

patrouilles#16,200
patrouilleur#44,085

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "patrouilles" and "patrouilleur" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pa.tʁuj\ versus \pa.tʁu.jœʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "patrouilles" or "patrouilleur"?
"patrouilles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,200 in our French list, against #44,085 for "patrouilleur". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering patrouilles vs patrouilleur

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “patrouilles” 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