Which to use
“cai” and “cer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,045
- “cai” frequency rank
- #46,052
- “cer” frequency rank
- 92097
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cai | cer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bien, affaire, objet, chose, fortune. | Ciel. |
Where the eye mixes cai and cer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. cai (CVV) and cer (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: cai vs cer
A purely visual mix-up. cai (\kaj\) and cer (\ˈʧeɾ\) 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 92097, 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\. cer is at rank #46,052, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈʧeɾ\.
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 92097, this pair ranks #3,276 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cai vs cer
Shared letters: c. Private to "cai": ai. Private to "cer": er.
"cai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "cer" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cai" for "cer" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "cai" or "cer" show up more?
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 "cer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,276 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cai" and "cer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cer vs ciro". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #3,276 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.