Which to use
“samouraï” and “samouraïs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,089
- “samouraï” frequency rank
- #34,302
- “samouraïs” frequency rank
- 56391
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | samouraï | samouraïs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dans le Japon féodal, soldat de situation noble, vassal d’un daimyo et qui respecte le bushido. | Pluriel de samouraï. |
Same sound, different letters: samouraï vs samouraïs
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. samouraï runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against samouraïs's 9 (CVCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - samouraï and samouraïs
This is the hard kind. samouraï and samouraïs are pronounced identically (\sa.mu.ʁaj\) 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) - “samouraï” sits inside “samouraïs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
samouraï is recorded at frequency rank #22,089, classified as anoun, pronounced \sa.mu.ʁaj\. samouraïs is at rank #34,302, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sa.mu.ʁaj\.
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 56391, this pair ranks #121,365 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of samouraï vs samouraïs
Shared letters: amorsuï. Private to "samouraï": -. Private to "samouraïs": -.
"samouraï" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "samouraïs" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "samouraï" and "samouraïs" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "samouraï" vs "samouraïs" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
"samouraï" and "samouraïs" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "samouraï" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "samouraïs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #121,365 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "samouraï" and "samouraïs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "samouraïs vs Samurai". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #121,365 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.