Which to use
“coincidence” and “confidence” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,542
- “coincidence” frequency rank
- #2,247
- “confidence” frequency rank
- 9789
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coincidence | confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Of objects, the property of being coincident; occurring at the same time or place. | Self-assurance. |
Where the eye mixes coincidence and confidence
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. coincidence runs 11 letters (CVVCCVCVCCV) against confidence's 10 (CVCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between coincidence and confidence
A purely visual mix-up. coincidence (/kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/) and confidence (/ˈkɒn.fɪ.dəns/) 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 9789, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coincidence is recorded at frequency rank #7,542, classified as anoun, pronounced /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/. confidence is at rank #2,247, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɒn.fɪ.dəns/.
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 9789, this pair ranks #495,584 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coincidence vs confidence
Shared letters: cdeino. Private to "coincidence": -. Private to "confidence": f.
"coincidence" · 11 letters · shape CVVCCVCVCCV · "confidence" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- coincidence ← ccoincidence · cioncidence · coicnidence · coinccidence · coincdience · coincidance · coinciddence · coincidecne
- confidence ← cconfidence · cnofidence · cofnidence · confdience · conffidence · confidance · confiddence · confidecne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coincidence" for "confidence" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "coincidence" or "confidence" 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 "coincidence" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "confidence" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #495,584 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coincidence" and "confidence" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "confidante vs confidence". 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 #495,584 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.