cancersvscentersWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#10,650
“cancers” frequency rank
#47,779
“centers” frequency rank
58429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cancers centers
Definition Pluriel de cancer. Pluriel de center.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cancers and centers apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
cancers
7 ch
centers

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cancers (\kɑ̃.sɛʁ\) and centers (\ˈsɛn.ɚz\) 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 58429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cancers is recorded at frequency rank #10,650, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɑ̃.sɛʁ\. centers is at rank #47,779, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈsɛn.ɚz\.

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 58429, this pair ranks #109,131 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cancers vs centers

Shared letters: cenrs. Private to "cancers": a. Private to "centers": t.

"cancers" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "centers" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cancersacncers · cacners · canccers · cancerrs · cancerss · cancesr · cancres · canecrs
  • centersccenters · cenetrs · cennters · centerrs · centerss · centesr · centters · cetners

Frequency comparison

cancers#10,650
centers#47,779

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cancers" and "centers" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɑ̃.sɛʁ\ versus \ˈsɛn.ɚz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cancers" or "centers"?
"cancers" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,650 in our French list, against #47,779 for "centers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cancers vs centers

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 “cancers” 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