sédentaire vs sédentaires, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#31,759
“sédentaire” frequency rank: #33,041
“sédentaires” frequency rank: 64800
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sédentaire	sédentaires
Definition	Qui demeure ordinairement assis.	Pluriel de sédentaire.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sédentaire and sédentaires apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch

sédentaire

11 ch

sédentaires

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. sédentaire and sédentaires are pronounced identically (\se.dɑ̃.tɛʁ\) 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) - “sédentaire” sits inside “sédentaires”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sédentaire is recorded at frequency rank #31,759, classified as anadj, pronounced \se.dɑ̃.tɛʁ\. sédentaires is at rank #33,041, tagged as anadj, pronounced \se.dɑ̃.tɛʁ\.

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 64800, this pair ranks #75,265 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sédentaire vs sédentaires

Shared letters: adeinrsté. Private to "sédentaire": -. Private to "sédentaires": -.

"sédentaire" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCV · "sédentaires" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

sédentaire#31,759

sédentaires#33,041

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sédentaire" and "sédentaires" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\se.dɑ̃.tɛʁ\), 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, "sédentaire" or "sédentaires"?

"sédentaire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,759 in our French list, against #33,041 for "sédentaires". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sédentaire vs sédentaires

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 “sédentaire” entry
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