Which to use
“cai” is a noun and “cec” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,045
- “cai” frequency rank
- #46,636
- “cec” frequency rank
- 92681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cai | cec |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bien, affaire, objet, chose, fortune. | Aveugle. |
Where the eye mixes cai and cec
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. cai (CVV) and cec (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: cai vs cec
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cai is \kaj\ while cec is \ˈsek\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 92681, 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\. cec is at rank #46,636, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈsek\.
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 92681, this pair ranks #2,822 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cai vs cec
Shared letters: c. Private to "cai": ai. Private to "cec": e.
"cai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "cec" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cai" for "cec" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "cai" or "cec" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cec" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,822 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cai" and "cec" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs cec". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #2,822 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.