Français homophones

Caen/camp/camps/can/kan/khan/quand

"Caen" is a name; "camp" is a noun - grammar picks the spelling, not sound. Size rank #10 of 9,139 French groups.

Data vintage 2026-05-06

Grammar picks the spelling

Same sound, different grammar: "Caen" arrives as a name, while "camp" is a noun. Once the sentence role is fixed, only one spelling fits.

Spelling pairs in this cluster

Shared stem "ca" then splits - "Caen" (4 letters) vs "camp" (4).
Shared stem "ca" then splits - "Caen" (4 letters) vs "camps" (5).
Shared stem "ca" then splits - "Caen" (4 letters) vs "can" (3).
No shared spelling stem: "Caen" is 4 letters, "kan" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "Caen" is 4 letters, "khan" is 4; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "Caen" is 4 letters, "quand" is 5; only the sound ties them.
Shared stem "camp" then splits - "camp" (4 letters) vs "camps" (5).
Shared stem "ca" then splits - "camp" (4 letters) vs "can" (3).
No shared spelling stem: "camp" is 4 letters, "kan" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "camp" is 4 letters, "khan" is 4; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "camp" is 4 letters, "quand" is 5; only the sound ties them.
Shared stem "ca" then splits - "camps" (5 letters) vs "can" (3).
No shared spelling stem: "camps" is 5 letters, "kan" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "camps" is 5 letters, "khan" is 4; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "camps" is 5 letters, "quand" is 5; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "can" is 3 letters, "kan" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "can" is 3 letters, "khan" is 4; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "can" is 3 letters, "quand" is 5; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "kan" is 3 letters, "khan" is 4; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "kan" is 3 letters, "quand" is 5; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "khan" is 4 letters, "quand" is 5; only the sound ties them.

Orthographic DNA of this cluster

Shared letters across Caen, camp, camps, can, kan, khan, quand: a. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.

Caen
4 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVVC
Inventory acen · private cen
camp
4 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVCC
Inventory acmp · private cmp
camps
5 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVCCC
Inventory acmps · private cmps
can
3 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVC
Inventory acn · private cn
kan
3 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVC
Inventory akn · private kn
khan
4 letters · 1 vowels · shape CCVC
Inventory ahkn · private hkn
quand
5 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVVCC
Inventory adnqu · private dnqu

Pick the spelling from the meaning

Write "Caen" when you mean: Commune et chef-lieu de département français, située dans le département du Calvados.
Write "camp" when you mean: Espace de terrain où une armée dresse des tentes ou construit des baraques pour s’y loger en ordre ou pour s’y retrancher.
Write "camps" when you mean: Pluriel de camp.
Write "can" when you mean: Face la moins large d’une pièce de bois ou d'une tôle métallique.
Write "kan" when you mean: Prince commandant chez les Mongols (autrefois appelés Tartares), les chefs d’État de Perse d’origine mongole, etc.
Write "khan" when you mean: Prince commandant chez les Mongols (autrefois appelés Tartares), les chefs d’État de Perse d’origine mongole, etc. Qagan (qaganus en lati…
Write "quand" when you mean: Lorsque, dans le temps que.

Known mistypes of these spellings

Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.

Caen ← acen · caenn · ccaen · cean
camp ← acmp · cammp · campp · capm · ccamp · cmap
camps ← acmps · cammps · campps · campss · camsp · capms
khan ← hkan · khann · khhan · khna · kkhan
quand ← qaund · qquand · quadn · quandd · quannd · qunad

Each spelling

Caen

name · /\kɑ̃\/ · #5,321 frequency

Commune et chef-lieu de département français, située dans le département du Calvados.

camp

noun · /\kɑ̃\/ · #1,199 frequency

Espace de terrain où une armée dresse des tentes ou construit des baraques pour s’y loger en ordre ou pour s’y retrancher.

camps

noun · /\kɑ̃\/ · #4,051 frequency

Pluriel de camp.

can

noun · /\kɑ̃\/ · #5,217 frequency

Face la moins large d’une pièce de bois ou d'une tôle métallique.

kan

noun · /\kɑ̃\/ · #21,371 frequency

Prince commandant chez les Mongols (autrefois appelés Tartares), les chefs d’État de Perse d’origine mongole, etc.

khan

noun · /\kɑ̃\/ · #10,731 frequency

Prince commandant chez les Mongols (autrefois appelés Tartares), les chefs d’État de Perse d’origine mongole, etc. Qagan (qaganus en latin) pour l’empereur déjà chez les Huns vers 450.

quand

conjunction · /\kɑ̃\/ · #75 frequency

Lorsque, dans le temps que.