caissesvscaissonsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,322
“caisses” frequency rank
#30,929
“caissons” frequency rank
36251
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caisses caissons
Definition Pluriel de caisse. Pluriel de caisson.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caisses and caissons apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
caisses
8 ch
caissons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caisses (\kɛs\) and caissons (\kɛ.sɔ̃\) 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 36251, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caisses is recorded at frequency rank #5,322, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɛs\. caissons is at rank #30,929, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɛ.sɔ̃\.

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 36251, this pair ranks #270,908 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caisses vs caissons

Shared letters: acis. Private to "caisses": e. Private to "caissons": no.

"caisses" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "caissons" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caissesacisses · caisess · caissess · caissse · casises · ccaisses · ciasses
  • caissonsacissons · caisons · caisosns · caissnos · caissonns · caissonss · caissosn · casisons

Frequency comparison

caisses#5,322
caissons#30,929

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caisses" and "caissons" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɛs\ versus \kɛ.sɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caisses" or "caissons"?
"caisses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,322 in our French list, against #30,929 for "caissons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caisses vs caissons

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 “caisses” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list