prêtre vs prêtres, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#3,215
“prêtre” frequency rank: #6,015
“prêtres” frequency rank: 9230
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	prêtre	prêtres
Definition	Celui qui exerce une fonction sacrée et qui préside aux cérémonies d’un culte religieux.	Pluriel de prêtre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set prêtre and prêtres apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

prêtre

7 ch

prêtres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. prêtre and prêtres are pronounced identically (\pʁɛtʁ\) 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) - “prêtre” sits inside “prêtres”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9230, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

prêtre is recorded at frequency rank #3,215, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁɛtʁ\. prêtres is at rank #6,015, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɛtʁ\.

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 9230, this pair ranks #417,369 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of prêtre vs prêtres

Shared letters: eprtê. Private to "prêtre": -. Private to "prêtres": s.

"prêtre" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV · "prêtres" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

prêtre#3,215

prêtres#6,015

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "prêtre" and "prêtres" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\pʁɛtʁ\), 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, "prêtre" or "prêtres"?

"prêtre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,215 in our French list, against #6,015 for "prêtres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering prêtre vs prêtres

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 “prêtre” entry
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