rigolevsrigolosWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: rigole is a noun, rigolos is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“rigole” is a noun and “rigolos” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,234
“rigole” frequency rank
#32,568
“rigolos” frequency rank
39802
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rigole and rigolos apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
rigole
7 ch
rigolos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rigole is \ʁi.ɡɔl\ while rigolos is \ʁi.ɡɔ.lɔ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39802, 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\. rigolos is at rank #32,568, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁi.ɡɔ.lɔ\.

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 39802, this pair ranks #245,252 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rigole vs rigolos

Shared letters: gilor. Private to "rigole": e. Private to "rigolos": s.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rigoleirgole · rgiole · riggole · rigloe · rigoel · rigolle · riogle · rrigole
  • rigolosirgolos · rgiolos · riggolos · rigloos · rigollos · rigoloss · rigolso · rigools

Frequency comparison

rigole#7,234
rigolos#32,568

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rigole" and "rigolos" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rigole" is a noun and "rigolos" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rigole" or "rigolos"?
"rigole" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,234 in our French list, against #32,568 for "rigolos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rigole vs rigolos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “rigole”; for an adjective, it's “rigolos”.
  • 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