totalvstotauxWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#927
“total” frequency rank
#27,269
“totaux” frequency rank
28196
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature total totaux
Definition Qui est complet ; qui est entier. Masculin pluriel de total.

Where the eye mixes total and totaux

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. total runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against totaux's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
total
6 ch
totaux

Why the eye confuses total with totaux

A purely visual mix-up. total (\tɔ.tal\) and totaux (\tɔ.to\) 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 28196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

total is recorded at frequency rank #927, classified as anadj, pronounced \tɔ.tal\. totaux is at rank #27,269, tagged as anadj, pronounced \tɔ.to\.

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 28196, this pair ranks #324,333 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of total vs totaux

Shared letters: aot. Private to "total": l. Private to "totaux": ux.

"total" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "totaux" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • total ← ottal · toatl · totall · totla · tottal · ttoal · ttotal
  • totaux ← ottaux · toatux · totauxx · totaxu · tottaux · totuax · ttoaux · ttotaux

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "total" and "totaux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\tɔ.tal\ versus \tɔ.to\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "total" vs "totaux" - which ranks higher?
"total" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #927 in our French list, against #27,269 for "totaux". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "total" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "totaux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #324,333 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "total" and "totaux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tora vs total". 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 #324,333 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