Which to use
“cales” and “case” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,327
- “cales” frequency rank
- #4,916
- “case” frequency rank
- 37243
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cales | case |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de cale. | Petite habitation traditionnelle, sous les tropiques. |
Where the eye mixes cales and case
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cales with case
A purely visual mix-up. cales (\kal\) and case (\kaz\) 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 37243, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cales is recorded at frequency rank #32,327, classified as anoun, pronounced \kal\. case is at rank #4,916, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kaz\.
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 37243, this pair ranks #263,879 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cales vs case
Shared letters: aces. Private to "cales": l. Private to "case": -.
"cales" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "case" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cales" for "case" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cales" or "case"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cales" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "case" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #263,879 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cales" and "case" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cales vs callas". 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 #263,879 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.