Which to use
“cirque” and “cirrus” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,366
- “cirque” frequency rank
- #44,119
- “cirrus” frequency rank
- 74485
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cirque | cirrus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A Roman circus. | A tendril. |
Where the eye mixes cirque and cirrus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cirque (CVCCVV) and cirrus (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses cirque with cirrus
A purely visual mix-up. cirque (/sɜːk/) and cirrus (/ˈsɪɹəs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74485, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cirque is recorded at frequency rank #30,366, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɜːk/. cirrus is at rank #44,119, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɪɹəs/.
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 74485, this pair ranks #36,210 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cirque vs cirrus
Shared letters: ciru. Private to "cirque": eq. Private to "cirrus": s.
"cirque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "cirrus" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cirque" for "cirrus" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cirque" vs "cirrus" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cirque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cirrus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #36,210 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cirque" and "cirrus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cinque vs cirque". 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 #36,210 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.