caléevscasséeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,384
“calée” frequency rank
#12,737
“cassée” frequency rank
61121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calée cassée
Definition Féminin singulier de calé. Féminin singulier de cassé.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
calée
6 ch
cassée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. calée (\ka.le\) and cassée (\ka.se\) 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 61121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calée is recorded at frequency rank #48,384, classified as anadj, pronounced \ka.le\. cassée is at rank #12,737, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ka.se\.

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 61121, this pair ranks #93,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calée vs cassée

Shared letters: aceé. Private to "calée": l. Private to "cassée": s.

"calée" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "cassée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

calée#48,384
cassée#12,737

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calée" and "cassée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ka.le\ versus \ka.se\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "calée" or "cassée"?
"cassée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,737 in our French list, against #48,384 for "calée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calée vs cassée

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 “calée” 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