calicevschoiceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,773
“calice” frequency rank
#30,944
“choice” frequency rank
50717
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calice choice
Definition Vase sacré dans lequel est consacré le vin, à la messe. Choix.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
calice
6 ch
choice

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. calice (\ka.lis\) and choice (\t͡ʃɔɪs\) 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 50717, 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\. choice is at rank #30,944, tagged as anoun, pronounced \t͡ʃɔɪs\.

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 50717, this pair ranks #160,501 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of calice vs choice

Shared letters: cei. Private to "calice": al. Private to "choice": ho.

"calice" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "choice" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caliceaclice · cailce · calcie · calicce · caliec · callice · ccalice · claice
  • choicecchoice · chhoice · chioce · chocie · choicce · choiec · cohice · hcoice

Frequency comparison

calice#19,773
choice#30,944

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calice" and "choice" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ka.lis\ versus \t͡ʃɔɪs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "calice" or "choice"?
"calice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,773 in our French list, against #30,944 for "choice". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calice vs choice

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 “calice” 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