ultimesvsutilesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,910
“ultimes” frequency rank
#4,452
“utiles” frequency rank
31362
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ultimes utiles
Definition Pluriel de ultime. Pluriel de utile.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ultimes and utiles apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
ultimes
6 ch
utiles

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ultimes (\yl.tim\) and utiles (\y.til\) 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 31362, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ultimes is recorded at frequency rank #26,910, classified as anadj, pronounced \yl.tim\. utiles is at rank #4,452, tagged as anadj, pronounced \y.til\.

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 31362, this pair ranks #304,273 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ultimes vs utiles

Shared letters: eilstu. Private to "ultimes": m. Private to "utiles": -.

"ultimes" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "utiles" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ultimeslutimes · ulitmes · ulltimes · ultiems · ultimess · ultimmes · ultimse · ultmies
  • utilesuitles · utiels · utiless · utilles · utilse · utlies · uttiles

Frequency comparison

ultimes#26,910
utiles#4,452

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ultimes" and "utiles" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\yl.tim\ versus \y.til\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ultimes" or "utiles"?
"utiles" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,452 in our French list, against #26,910 for "ultimes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ultimes vs utiles

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 “ultimes” 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