Which to use
“seconde” and “seconds” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #677
- “seconde” frequency rank
- #13,259
- “seconds” frequency rank
- 13936
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seconde | seconds |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de second. | Masculin pluriel de second. |
Where the eye mixes seconde and seconds
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses seconde with seconds
A purely visual mix-up. seconde (\sə.ɡɔ̃d\) and seconds (\sə.ɡɔ̃\) 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 a single letter - e in “seconde” becomes s in “seconds”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13936, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seconde is recorded at frequency rank #677, classified as anadj, pronounced \sə.ɡɔ̃d\. seconds is at rank #13,259, tagged as anadj, pronounced \sə.ɡɔ̃\.
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 13936, this pair ranks #398,891 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of seconde vs seconds
Shared letters: cdenos. Private to "seconde": -. Private to "seconds": -.
"seconde" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "seconds" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "seconde" for "seconds" ever safe?
Which is more common, "seconde" or "seconds"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "seconde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "seconds" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #398,891 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seconde" and "seconds" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seconds vs secundo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #398,891 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.