Which to use
“précaire” and “précaires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,030
- “précaire” frequency rank
- #15,730
- “précaires” frequency rank
- 27760
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | précaire | précaires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui ne s’exerce que par une tolérance qui peut cesser, par une permission révocable. | Pluriel de précaire. |
Same sound, different letters: précaire vs précaires
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. précaire runs 8 letters (CCVCVVCV) against précaires's 9 (CCVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - précaire / précaires
This is the hard kind. précaire and précaires are pronounced identically (\pʁe.kɛʁ\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “précaire” sits inside “précaires”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
précaire is recorded at frequency rank #12,030, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.kɛʁ\. précaires is at rank #15,730, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.kɛʁ\.
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 27760, this pair ranks #326,964 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of précaire vs précaires
Shared letters: aceipré. Private to "précaire": -. Private to "précaires": s.
"précaire" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVVCV · "précaires" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "précaire" and "précaires" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "précaire" vs "précaires" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "précaire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "précaires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #326,964 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "précaire" and "précaires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "précaire vs prétoire". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #326,964 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.