Which to use
“variable” and “variables” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,086
- “variable” frequency rank
- #7,127
- “variables” frequency rank
- 12213
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | variable | variables |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est susceptible de changer, de varier, d’évoluer. | Pluriel de variable. |
Same sound, different letters: variable vs variables
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters.
Homophone desk: variable vs variables
This is the hard kind. variable and variables are pronounced identically (\va.ʁjabl\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “variable” sits inside “variables”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
variable is recorded at frequency rank #5,086, classified as anadj, pronounced \va.ʁjabl\. variables is at rank #7,127, tagged as anadj, pronounced \va.ʁjabl\.
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 12213, this pair ranks #406,146 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of variable vs variables
Shared letters: abeilrv. Private to "variable": -. Private to "variables": s.
"variable" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV · "variables" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "variable" and "variables" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "variable" vs "variables" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
"variable" and "variables" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "variable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "variables" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #406,146 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "variable" and "variables" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "variable vs veritable". 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 #406,146 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.