Which to use
“system” and “systèmes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,244
- “system” frequency rank
- #1,891
- “systèmes” frequency rank
- 11135
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | system | systèmes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Système. | Pluriel de système. |
Where the eye mixes system and systèmes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses system with systèmes
A purely visual mix-up. system (\ˈsɪs.təm\) and systèmes (\sis.tɛm\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
system is recorded at frequency rank #9,244, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈsɪs.təm\. systèmes is at rank #1,891, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sis.tɛm\.
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 11135, this pair ranks #410,337 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of system vs systèmes
Shared letters: emsty. Private to "system": -. Private to "systèmes": è.
"system" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "systèmes" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- system ← ssystem · ssytem · sysetm · sysstem · systemm · systme · systtem · sytsem
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "system" and "systèmes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "system" or "systèmes"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "system" and "systèmes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "system" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "systèmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #410,337 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "system" and "systèmes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sister vs system". 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 #410,337 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.