polyvalencevspolyvalentsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,914
“polyvalence” frequency rank
#46,961
“polyvalents” frequency rank
76875
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature polyvalence polyvalents
Definition Caractère de ce qui est polyvalent. Pluriel de polyvalent.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set polyvalence and polyvalents apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
polyvalence
11 ch
polyvalents

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. polyvalence (\pɔ.li.va.lɑ̃s\) and polyvalents (\pɔ.li.va.lɑ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76875, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

polyvalence is recorded at frequency rank #29,914, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɔ.li.va.lɑ̃s\. polyvalents is at rank #46,961, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔ.li.va.lɑ̃\.

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 76875, this pair ranks #29,942 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of polyvalence vs polyvalents

Shared letters: aelnopvy. Private to "polyvalence": c. Private to "polyvalents": st.

"polyvalence" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCCV  ·  "polyvalents" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • polyvalenceoplyvalence · ployvalence · pollyvalence · polvyalence · polyavlence · polyvaelnce · polyvalecne · polyvalencce
  • polyvalentsoplyvalents · ployvalents · pollyvalents · polvyalents · polyavlents · polyvaelnts · polyvalennts · polyvalenst

Frequency comparison

polyvalence#29,914
polyvalents#46,961

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "polyvalence" and "polyvalents" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɔ.li.va.lɑ̃s\ versus \pɔ.li.va.lɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "polyvalence" or "polyvalents"?
"polyvalence" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,914 in our French list, against #46,961 for "polyvalents". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering polyvalence vs polyvalents

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 “polyvalence” 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