ultravsultrasWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ultra is a adverb, ultras is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ultra” is an adverb and “ultras” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,804
“ultra” frequency rank
#24,067
“ultras” frequency rank
26871
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ultra ultras
Definition (Antéposé : se place avant le nom, sans trait d'union) Qui dépasse la mesure, la norme. Pluriel de ultra.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
ultra
6 ch
ultras

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: ultra and ultras carry the same recorded pronunciation, \yl.tʁa\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadverb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ultra” sits inside “ultras”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ultra is recorded at frequency rank #2,804, classified as anadv, pronounced \yl.tʁa\. ultras is at rank #24,067, tagged as anoun, pronounced \yl.tʁa\.

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 26871, this pair ranks #332,331 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ultra vs ultras

Shared letters: alrtu. Private to "ultra": -. Private to "ultras": s.

"ultra" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV  ·  "ultras" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ultralutra · ulltra · ulrta · ultar · ultrra · ulttra · utlra
  • ultraslutras · ulltras · ulrtas · ultars · ultrass · ultrras · ultrsa · ulttras

Frequency comparison

ultra#2,804
ultras#24,067

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ultra" and "ultras" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ultra" is an adverb and "ultras" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ultra" or "ultras"?
"ultra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,804 in our French list, against #24,067 for "ultras". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ultra vs ultras

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “ultra”; for a noun, it's “ultras”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ultra” 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