puissantesvspuissantsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,216
“puissantes” frequency rank
#5,281
“puissants” frequency rank
15497
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature puissantes puissants
Definition Féminin pluriel de puissant. Masculin pluriel de puissant.

Where the spellings diverge

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

10 ch
puissantes
9 ch
puissants

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. puissantes (\pɥi.sɑ̃t\) and puissants (\pɥi.sɑ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

puissantes is recorded at frequency rank #10,216, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɥi.sɑ̃t\. puissants is at rank #5,281, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pɥi.sɑ̃\.

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 15497, this pair ranks #392,094 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of puissantes vs puissants

Shared letters: ainpstu. Private to "puissantes": e. Private to "puissants": -.

"puissantes" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC  ·  "puissants" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • puissantespiussantes · ppuissantes · puisantes · puisasntes · puissanets · puissanntes · puissantess · puissantse
  • puissantspiussants · ppuissants · puisants · puisasnts · puissannts · puissanst · puissantss · puissantts

Frequency comparison

puissantes#10,216
puissants#5,281

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "puissantes" and "puissants" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɥi.sɑ̃t\ versus \pɥi.sɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "puissantes" or "puissants"?
"puissants" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,281 in our French list, against #10,216 for "puissantes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering puissantes vs puissants

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 “puissantes” 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