campevscampusWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,682
“campe” frequency rank
#5,735
“campus” frequency rank
35417
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature campe campus
Definition Droguet croisé et drapé du Poitou. Vaste ensemble de bâtiments universitaires.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
campe
6 ch
campus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. campe (\kɑ̃p\) and campus (\kɑ̃.pys\) 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 35417, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

campe is recorded at frequency rank #29,682, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɑ̃p\. campus is at rank #5,735, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɑ̃.pys\.

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 35417, this pair ranks #276,909 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of campe vs campus

Shared letters: acmp. Private to "campe": e. Private to "campus": su.

"campe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "campus" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • campeacmpe · camep · cammpe · camppe · capme · ccampe · cmape
  • campusacmpus · cammpus · camppus · campsu · campuss · camups · capmus · ccampus

Frequency comparison

campe#29,682
campus#5,735

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "campe" and "campus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɑ̃p\ versus \kɑ̃.pys\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "campe" or "campus"?
"campus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,735 in our French list, against #29,682 for "campe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering campe vs campus

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 “campe” 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