cadresvscariesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cadres” and “caries” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,442
“cadres” frequency rank
#38,190
“caries” frequency rank
41632
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cadres caries
Definition Pluriel de cadre. Pluriel de carie.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cadres and caries apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cadres
6 ch
caries

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cadres (\kɑdʁ\) and caries (\ka.ʁi\) 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 41632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cadres is recorded at frequency rank #3,442, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɑdʁ\. caries is at rank #38,190, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ka.ʁi\.

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 41632, this pair ranks #231,672 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cadres vs caries

Shared letters: acers. Private to "cadres": d. Private to "caries": i.

"cadres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "caries" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cadresacdres · caddres · caders · cadress · cadrres · cadrse · cardes · ccadres
  • cariesacries · caires · careis · cariess · carise · carries · ccaries · craies

Frequency comparison

cadres#3,442
caries#38,190

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cadres" and "caries" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɑdʁ\ versus \ka.ʁi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cadres" or "caries"?
"cadres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,442 in our French list, against #38,190 for "caries". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering cadres vs caries

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cadres” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list