ternesvstournésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,214
“ternes” frequency rank
#14,572
“tournés” frequency rank
46786
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ternes tournés
Definition Pluriel de terne. Masculin pluriel de tourné.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
ternes
7 ch
tournés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ternes (\tɛʁn\) and tournés (\tuʁ.ne\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ternes is recorded at frequency rank #32,214, classified as anadj, pronounced \tɛʁn\. tournés is at rank #14,572, tagged as anadj, pronounced \tuʁ.ne\.

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 46786, this pair ranks #192,090 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ternes vs tournés

Shared letters: nrst. Private to "ternes": e. Private to "tournés": oué.

"ternes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "tournés" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ternesetrnes · tenres · terens · terness · ternnes · ternse · terrnes · trenes

Frequency comparison

ternes#32,214
tournés#14,572

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ternes" and "tournés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\tɛʁn\ versus \tuʁ.ne\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ternes" or "tournés"?
"tournés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,572 in our French list, against #32,214 for "ternes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ternes vs tournés

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 “ternes” 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