qualitésvsquantitésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,356
“qualités” frequency rank
#6,647
“quantités” frequency rank
10003
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature qualités quantités
Definition Pluriel de qualité. Pluriel de quantité.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set qualités and quantités apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
qualités
9 ch
quantités

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. qualités (\ka.li.te\) and quantités (\kɑ̃.ti.te\) 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 10003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

qualités is recorded at frequency rank #3,356, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.li.te\. quantités is at rank #6,647, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɑ̃.ti.te\.

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 10003, this pair ranks #414,595 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of qualités vs quantités

Shared letters: aiqstué. Private to "qualités": l. Private to "quantités": n.

"qualités" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC  ·  "quantités" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

qualités#3,356
quantités#6,647

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "qualités" and "quantités" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ka.li.te\ versus \kɑ̃.ti.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "qualités" or "quantités"?
"qualités" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,356 in our French list, against #6,647 for "quantités". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering qualités vs quantités

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 “qualités” 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