rigolevsrigolesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,234
“rigole” frequency rank
#13,052
“rigoles” frequency rank
20286
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rigole rigoles
Definition Petit canal creusé dans la terre ou dans la pierre, pour faire couler l’eau à travers un jardin, un pré, etc. Pluriel de rigole.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rigole and rigoles apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
rigole
7 ch
rigoles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. rigole and rigoles are pronounced identically (\ʁi.ɡɔl\) 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) - “rigole” sits inside “rigoles”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20286, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rigole is recorded at frequency rank #7,234, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁi.ɡɔl\. rigoles is at rank #13,052, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁi.ɡɔl\.

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 20286, this pair ranks #369,045 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rigole vs rigoles

Shared letters: egilor. Private to "rigole": -. Private to "rigoles": s.

"rigole" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "rigoles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rigoleirgole · rgiole · riggole · rigloe · rigoel · rigolle · riogle · rrigole
  • rigolesirgoles · rgioles · riggoles · rigloes · rigoels · rigoless · rigolles · rigolse

Frequency comparison

rigole#7,234
rigoles#13,052

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rigole" and "rigoles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ʁi.ɡɔl\), 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, "rigole" or "rigoles"?
"rigole" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,234 in our French list, against #13,052 for "rigoles". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rigole vs rigoles

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 “rigole” 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