préservatif vs préservatifs

Which to use

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

#17,797
“préservatif” frequency rank: #21,127
“préservatifs” frequency rank: 38924
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	préservatif	préservatifs
Definition	Qui a la vertu ou la faculté de préserver, en parlant de remède.	Masculin pluriel de préservatif.

Same sound, different letters: préservatif vs préservatifs

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 11 letters. préservatif runs 11 letters (CCVCVCCVCVC) against préservatifs's 12 (CCVCVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch

préservatif

12 ch

préservatifs

Homophone desk: préservatif vs préservatifs

This is the hard kind. préservatif and préservatifs are pronounced identically (\pʁe.zɛʁ.va.tif\) 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) - “préservatif” sits inside “préservatifs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

préservatif is recorded at frequency rank #17,797, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.zɛʁ.va.tif\. préservatifs is at rank #21,127, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pʁe.zɛʁ.va.tif\.

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 38924, this pair ranks #251,818 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of préservatif vs préservatifs

Shared letters: aefiprstvé. Private to "préservatif": -. Private to "préservatifs": -.

"préservatif" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCCVCVC · "préservatifs" · 12 letters · shape CCVCVCCVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "préservatif" and "préservatifs" mean the same thing in a sentence?

No. They are pronounced the same (\pʁe.zɛʁ.va.tif\), 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, "préservatif" or "préservatifs"?

"préservatif" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,797 in our French list, against #21,127 for "préservatifs". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've separated the homophone pair "préservatif" / "préservatifs". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.

Full dictionary entry for "préservatif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "préservatifs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #251,818 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics

Confusion rank #251,818 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.