prédécesseurvsprédécesseursWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,900
“prédécesseur” frequency rank
#12,227
“prédécesseurs” frequency rank
22127
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature prédécesseur prédécesseurs
Definition Personne qui a précédé quelqu’un. Pluriel de prédécesseur.

Where the spellings diverge

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

12 ch
prédécesseur
13 ch
prédécesseurs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. prédécesseur and prédécesseurs are pronounced identically (\pʁe.de.se.sœʁ\) 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) - “prédécesseur” sits inside “prédécesseurs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prédécesseur is recorded at frequency rank #9,900, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁe.de.se.sœʁ\. prédécesseurs is at rank #12,227, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁe.de.se.sœʁ\.

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 22127, this pair ranks #359,703 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of prédécesseur vs prédécesseurs

Shared letters: cdeprsué. Private to "prédécesseur": -. Private to "prédécesseurs": -.

"prédécesseur" · 12 letters · shape CCVCVCVCCVVC  ·  "prédécesseurs" · 13 letters · shape CCVCVCVCCVVCC

Frequency comparison

prédécesseur#9,900
prédécesseurs#12,227

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prédécesseur" and "prédécesseurs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\pʁe.de.se.sœʁ\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "prédécesseur" or "prédécesseurs"?
"prédécesseur" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,900 in our French list, against #12,227 for "prédécesseurs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prédécesseur vs prédécesseurs

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 “prédécesseur” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list