quaisvsquilsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,217
“quais” frequency rank
#32,543
“quils” frequency rank
42760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quais quils
Definition Pluriel de quai. Pluriel de quil.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quais and quils apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
quais
5 ch
quils

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quais (\ke\) and quils (\kils\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quais is recorded at frequency rank #10,217, classified as anoun, pronounced \ke\. quils is at rank #32,543, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kils\.

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 42760, this pair ranks #223,147 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quais vs quils

Shared letters: iqsu. Private to "quais": a. Private to "quils": l.

"quais" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "quils" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quaisqauis · qquais · quaiss · quias · uqais
  • quilsqiuls · qquils · quills · quilss · quisl · qulis · uqils

Frequency comparison

quais#10,217
quils#32,543

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quais" and "quils" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ke\ versus \kils\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quais" or "quils"?
"quais" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,217 in our French list, against #32,543 for "quils". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quais vs quils

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 “quais” 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