Which to use
“cai” and “cil” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,045
- “cai” frequency rank
- #33,611
- “cil” frequency rank
- 79656
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cai | cil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bien, affaire, objet, chose, fortune. | Poil des paupières. |
Where the eye mixes cai and cil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. cai (CVV) and cil (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: cai vs cil
A purely visual mix-up. cai (\kaj\) and cil (\sil\) 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 79656, 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\. cil is at rank #33,611, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sil\.
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 79656, this pair ranks #22,771 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cai vs cil
Shared letters: ci. Private to "cai": a. Private to "cil": l.
"cai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "cil" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cai" for "cil" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cai" vs "cil" - 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 "cai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,771 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cai" and "cil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cai vs CCE". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #22,771 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.