signalésvssignésConfusable pair

Quick tell: signalés is a adjective, signés is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“signalés” is an adjective and “signés” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,505
“signalés” frequency rank
#10,786
“signés” frequency rank
26291
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature signalés signés
Definition Masculin pluriel de signalé. Participe passé masculin pluriel de signer.

Where the eye mixes signalés and signés

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. signalés runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against signés's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
signalés
6 ch
signés

Why the eye confuses signalés with signés

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: signalés is \si.ɲa.le\ while signés is \si.ɲe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

signalés is recorded at frequency rank #15,505, classified as anadj, pronounced \si.ɲa.le\. signés is at rank #10,786, tagged as averb, pronounced \si.ɲe\.

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 26291, this pair ranks #335,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of signalés vs signés

Shared letters: ginsé. Private to "signalés": al. Private to "signés": -.

"signalés" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "signés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "signalés" for "signés" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "signalés" is an adjective and "signés" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "signalés" vs "signés" - which ranks higher?
"signés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,786 in our French list, against #15,505 for "signalés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "signalés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "signés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #335,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "signalés" and "signés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "signés vs sires". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #335,958 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list