Which to use
“câble” is a noun and “cae” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,849
- “câble” frequency rank
- #43,819
- “cae” frequency rank
- 48668
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | câble | cae |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gros cordage formé de l’assemblage de plusieurs torons de chanvre, d’aloès, d’acier, etc. | Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe irrégulier caer. |
Where the eye mixes câble and cae
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses câble with cae
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: câble is \kabl\ while cae is \ˈka.e\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
câble is recorded at frequency rank #4,849, classified as anoun, pronounced \kabl\. cae is at rank #43,819, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈka.e\.
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 48668, this pair ranks #176,981 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of câble vs cae
Shared letters: ce. Private to "câble": blâ. Private to "cae": a.
"câble" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "cae" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "câble" for "cae" ever safe?
Frequency check: "câble" vs "cae" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "câble" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cae" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #176,981 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "câble" and "cae" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cae vs CCE". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #176,981 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.