rectanglevsrectanglesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,300
“rectangle” frequency rank
#40,955
“rectangles” frequency rank
59255
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rectangle rectangles
Definition Se dit d’un triangle qui a un angle droit. Pluriel de rectangle.

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
rectangle
10 ch
rectangles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. rectangle and rectangles are pronounced identically (\ʁɛk.tɑ̃ɡl\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “rectangle” sits inside “rectangles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rectangle is recorded at frequency rank #18,300, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁɛk.tɑ̃ɡl\. rectangles is at rank #40,955, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁɛk.tɑ̃ɡl\.

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 59255, this pair ranks #104,194 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rectangle vs rectangles

Shared letters: aceglnrt. Private to "rectangle": -. Private to "rectangles": s.

"rectangle" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV  ·  "rectangles" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rectangleerctangle · rcetangle · recatngle · recctangle · rectagnle · rectangel · rectanggle · rectanglle
  • rectangleserctangles · rcetangles · recatngles · recctangles · rectagnles · rectangels · rectanggles · rectangless

Frequency comparison

rectangle#18,300
rectangles#40,955

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rectangle" and "rectangles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ʁɛk.tɑ̃ɡl\), 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, "rectangle" or "rectangles"?
"rectangle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,300 in our French list, against #40,955 for "rectangles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rectangle vs rectangles

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 “rectangle” 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