Which to use
“calice” and “calque” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,773
- “calice” frequency rank
- #32,328
- “calque” frequency rank
- 52101
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | calice | calque |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vase sacré dans lequel est consacré le vin, à la messe. | Reproduction obtenue en calquant. |
Where the eye mixes calice and calque
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. calice (CVCVCV) and calque (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: calice vs calque
A purely visual mix-up. calice (\ka.lis\) and calque (\kalk\) 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 52101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
calice is recorded at frequency rank #19,773, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.lis\. calque is at rank #32,328, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kalk\.
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 52101, this pair ranks #150,170 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of calice vs calque
Shared letters: acel. Private to "calice": i. Private to "calque": qu.
"calice" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "calque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "calice" and "calque" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "calice" or "calque"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "calice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "calque" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,170 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "calice" and "calque" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calée vs calque". 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 #150,170 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.