Which to use
“cai” and “cas” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,045
- “cai” frequency rank
- #157
- “cas” frequency rank
- 46202
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cai | cas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bien, affaire, objet, chose, fortune. | Accident, aventure, conjoncture, occasion ; fait arrivé, ou qui peut arriver. |
Where the eye mixes cai and cas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. cai (CVV) and cas (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses cai with cas
A purely visual mix-up. cai (\kaj\) and cas (\kɑ\) 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 a single letter - i in “cai” becomes s in “cas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46202, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cai is recorded at frequency rank #46,045, classified as anoun, pronounced \kaj\. cas is at rank #157, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɑ\.
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 46202, this pair ranks #196,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cai vs cas
Shared letters: ac. Private to "cai": i. Private to "cas": s.
"cai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "cas" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cai" for "cas" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cai" or "cas"?
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 "cai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #196,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cai" and "cas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cai vs CCE". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #196,802 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.