caissesvscrossesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,322
“caisses” frequency rank
#47,268
“crosses” frequency rank
52590
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caisses crosses
Definition Pluriel de caisse. Pluriel de crosse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caisses and crosses apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
caisses
7 ch
crosses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caisses (\kɛs\) and crosses (\kʁɔs\) 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 52590, 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\. crosses is at rank #47,268, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁɔs\.

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 52590, this pair ranks #146,645 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caisses vs crosses

Shared letters: ces. Private to "caisses": ai. Private to "crosses": or.

"caisses" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "crosses" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caissesacisses · caisess · caissess · caissse · casises · ccaisses · ciasses
  • crossesccrosses · corsses · crosess · crossess · crossse · crrosses · crsoses · rcosses

Frequency comparison

caisses#5,322
crosses#47,268

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caisses" and "crosses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɛs\ versus \kʁɔs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caisses" or "crosses"?
"caisses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,322 in our French list, against #47,268 for "crosses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caisses vs crosses

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