princessevsprincessesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,441
“princesse” frequency rank
#15,465
“princesses” frequency rank
17906
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature princesse princesses
Definition Fille du roi ou du souverain régnant équivalent. Pluriel de princesse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
princesse
10 ch
princesses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. princesse and princesses are pronounced identically (\pʁɛ̃.sɛs\) 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) - “princesse” sits inside “princesses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

princesse is recorded at frequency rank #2,441, classified as anoun, pronounced \pʁɛ̃.sɛs\. princesses is at rank #15,465, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɛ̃.sɛs\.

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 17906, this pair ranks #380,889 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of princesse vs princesses

Shared letters: ceinprs. Private to "princesse": -. Private to "princesses": -.

"princesse" · 9 letters · shape CCVCCVCCV  ·  "princesses" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • princessepirncesse · pprincesse · pricnesse · princcesse · princese · princeses · princsese · prinecsse
  • princessespirncesses · pprincesses · pricnesses · princcesses · princesess · princessess · princessse · princseses

Frequency comparison

princesse#2,441
princesses#15,465

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "princesse" and "princesses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\pʁɛ̃.sɛs\), 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, "princesse" or "princesses"?
"princesse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,441 in our French list, against #15,465 for "princesses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering princesse vs princesses

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 “princesse” 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