télégrammevstélégrammesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,761
“télégramme” frequency rank
#46,506
“télégrammes” frequency rank
63267
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature télégramme télégrammes
Definition Dépêche transmise par le télégraphe. Pluriel de télégramme.

Where the spellings diverge

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

10 ch
télégramme
11 ch
télégrammes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. télégramme and télégrammes are pronounced identically (\te.le.ɡʁam\) and both work as anoun. 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) - “télégramme” sits inside “télégrammes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

télégramme is recorded at frequency rank #16,761, classified as anoun, pronounced \te.le.ɡʁam\. télégrammes is at rank #46,506, tagged as anoun, pronounced \te.le.ɡʁam\.

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 63267, this pair ranks #82,848 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of télégramme vs télégrammes

Shared letters: aeglmrté. Private to "télégramme": -. Private to "télégrammes": s.

"télégramme" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV  ·  "télégrammes" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

télégramme#16,761
télégrammes#46,506

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "télégramme" and "télégrammes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\te.le.ɡʁam\), 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, "télégramme" or "télégrammes"?
"télégramme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,761 in our French list, against #46,506 for "télégrammes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering télégramme vs télégrammes

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 “télégramme” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list