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 eye mixes caisses and crosses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. caisses (CVVCCVC) and crosses (CCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses caisses with crosses
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caisses" and "crosses" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "caisses" or "crosses"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "caisses" and "crosses" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "caisses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crosses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #146,645 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caisses" and "crosses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "causses vs crosses". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #146,645 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.