Which to use
“plans” and “plates” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,929
- “plans” frequency rank
- #9,534
- “plates” frequency rank
- 11463
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plans | plates |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de plan. | Féminin pluriel de plat. |
Where the eye mixes plans and plates
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: plans vs plates
A purely visual mix-up. plans (\plɑ̃\) and plates (\plat\) 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 11463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plans is recorded at frequency rank #1,929, classified as anadj, pronounced \plɑ̃\. plates is at rank #9,534, tagged as anadj, pronounced \plat\.
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 11463, this pair ranks #409,063 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of plans vs plates
Shared letters: alps. Private to "plans": n. Private to "plates": et.
"plans" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "plates" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "plans" and "plates" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "plans" or "plates"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "plans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "plates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #409,063 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plans" and "plates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "palaces vs plates". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #409,063 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.