sommesvssummerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#405
“sommes” frequency rank
#12,869
“summer” frequency rank
13274
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sommes summer
Definition Pluriel de somme. Été (saison).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sommes and summer apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
sommes
6 ch
summer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sommes (\sɔm\) and summer (\ˈsʌm.ɚ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sommes is recorded at frequency rank #405, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɔm\. summer is at rank #12,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈsʌm.ɚ\.

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 13274, this pair ranks #401,703 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sommes vs summer

Shared letters: ems. Private to "sommes": o. Private to "summer": ru.

"sommes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "summer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sommesosmmes · smomes · somems · somes · sommess · sommse · ssommes
  • summersmumer · ssummer · sumemr · sumer · summerr · summre · usmmer

Frequency comparison

sommes#405
summer#12,869

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sommes" and "summer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\sɔm\ versus \ˈsʌm.ɚ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sommes" or "summer"?
"sommes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #405 in our French list, against #12,869 for "summer". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sommes vs summer

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 “sommes” 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