périphériquevspériphériquesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: périphérique is a noun, périphériques is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#10,770
“périphérique” frequency rank
#13,883
“périphériques” frequency rank
24653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature périphérique périphériques
Definition Pièce électronique connectée à un système informatique, qui permet la transmission des entrées et des sorties entre l’utilisateur et le système ou entre ce dernier et un autre système compatible. Pluriel de périphérique.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set périphérique and périphériques apart are highlighted. They share 12 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

12 ch
périphérique
13 ch
périphériques

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: périphérique and périphériques carry the same recorded pronunciation, \pe.ʁi.fe.ʁik\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “périphérique” sits inside “périphériques”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

périphérique is recorded at frequency rank #10,770, classified as anoun, pronounced \pe.ʁi.fe.ʁik\. périphériques is at rank #13,883, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pe.ʁi.fe.ʁik\.

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 24653, this pair ranks #345,375 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of périphérique vs périphériques

Shared letters: ehipqrué. Private to "périphérique": -. Private to "périphériques": s.

"périphérique" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCVV  ·  "périphériques" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

périphérique#10,770
périphériques#13,883

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "périphérique" and "périphériques" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "périphérique" is a noun and "périphériques" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "périphérique" or "périphériques"?
"périphérique" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,770 in our French list, against #13,883 for "périphériques". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering périphérique vs périphériques

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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