Which to use
“pingouin” and “pingouins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,977
- “pingouin” frequency rank
- #29,908
- “pingouins” frequency rank
- 53885
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pingouin | pingouins |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Oiseau palmipède piscivore membre de la famille des alcidés des océans de l’hémisphère nord. | Pluriel de pingouin. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pingouin and pingouins apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. pingouin and pingouins are pronounced identically (\pɛ̃.ɡwɛ̃\) and both work as anoun. 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) - “pingouin” sits inside “pingouins”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pingouin is recorded at frequency rank #23,977, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɛ̃.ɡwɛ̃\. pingouins is at rank #29,908, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛ̃.ɡwɛ̃\.
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 53885, this pair ranks #137,778 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pingouin vs pingouins
Shared letters: ginopu. Private to "pingouin": -. Private to "pingouins": s.
"pingouin" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC · "pingouins" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pingouin" and "pingouins" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pingouin" or "pingouins"?
Remembering pingouin vs pingouins
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 “pingouin” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable