cadrevscodeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“cadre” and “code” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,394
“cadre” frequency rank
#863
“code” frequency rank
28257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cadre code
Definition A frame or framework. A short textual designation, often with little relation to the item it represents.

Where the eye mixes cadre and code

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
cadre
4 ch
code

Why the eye confuses cadre with code

A purely visual mix-up. cadre (/ˈkɑː.də/) and code (/kəʊd/) 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 28257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cadre is recorded at frequency rank #27,394, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɑː.də/. code is at rank #863, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kəʊd/.

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 28257, this pair ranks #372,475 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cadre vs code

Shared letters: cde. Private to "cadre": ar. Private to "code": o.

"cadre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "code" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cadreacdre · caddre · cader · cadrre · ccadre · cdare
  • codeccode · cdoe · codde · ocde

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cadre" for "code" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkɑː.də/ versus /kəʊd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cadre" or "code"?
"code" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #863 in our English list, against #27,394 for "cadre". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "cadre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "code" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #372,475 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cadre" and "code" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cadre vs cair". 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 #372,475 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list