Which to use
“zéro” is an adjective and “zéros” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,655
- “zéro” frequency rank
- #33,083
- “zéros” frequency rank
- 35738
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | zéro | zéros |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vide, sans aucun élément. | Pluriel de zéro. |
Where the eye mixes zéro and zéros
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses zéro with zéros
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: zéro is \ze.ʁo\ while zéros is \ze.ʁɔ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “zéro” sits inside “zéros”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
zéro is recorded at frequency rank #2,655, classified as anadj, pronounced \ze.ʁo\. zéros is at rank #33,083, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ze.ʁɔ\.
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 35738, this pair ranks #274,589 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of zéro vs zéros
Shared letters: orzé. Private to "zéro": -. Private to "zéros": s.
"zéro" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "zéros" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "zéro" and "zéros" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "zéro" or "zéros" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "zéro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "zéros" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #274,589 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "zéro" and "zéros" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "zélés vs zéros". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #274,589 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.