Which to use
“calque” and “coque” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,328
- “calque” frequency rank
- #7,042
- “coque” frequency rank
- 39370
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | calque | coque |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Reproduction obtenue en calquant. | Enveloppe extérieure de l’œuf. |
Where the eye mixes calque and coque
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: calque vs coque
A purely visual mix-up. calque (\kalk\) and coque (\kɔk\) 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 39370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
calque is recorded at frequency rank #32,328, classified as anoun, pronounced \kalk\. coque is at rank #7,042, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔk\.
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 39370, this pair ranks #248,485 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of calque vs coque
Shared letters: cequ. Private to "calque": al. Private to "coque": o.
"calque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "coque" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "calque" for "coque" ever safe?
Frequency check: "calque" vs "coque" - which ranks higher?
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 "calque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coque" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,485 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "calque" and "coque" 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 #248,485 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.