caissevscrissWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,410
“caisse” frequency rank
#41,207
“criss” frequency rank
43617
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caisse criss
Definition Contenant rigide, de forme cubique ou parallélépipédique, constitué par l'assemblage de panneaux pleins ou à claire-voie, dans lequel on peut mettre des objets, pour les stocker ou les transporter. Poignard dont la lame est parfois en zigzag à l’usage des Malais.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caisse and criss apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
caisse
5 ch
criss

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caisse (\kɛs\) and criss (\kʁis\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caisse is recorded at frequency rank #2,410, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɛs\. criss is at rank #41,207, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁis\.

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 43617, this pair ranks #216,690 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caisse vs criss

Shared letters: cis. Private to "caisse": ae. Private to "criss": r.

"caisse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "criss" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caisseacisse · caise · caises · casise · ccaisse · ciasse
  • crissccriss · cirss · crriss · crsis · rciss

Frequency comparison

caisse#2,410
criss#41,207

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caisse" and "criss" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɛs\ versus \kʁis\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caisse" or "criss"?
"caisse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,410 in our French list, against #41,207 for "criss". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering caisse vs criss

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 “caisse” 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