Which to use
“capable” is an adjective and “capsule” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,222
- “capable” frequency rank
- #11,008
- “capsule” frequency rank
- 12230
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | capable | capsule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est en état de faire une chose ; qui a la capacité. | Fruit sec déhiscent, contenant de nombreuses graines, qui s'ouvre par plusieurs fentes, parfois par un couvercle ou par des pores. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set capable and capsule apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
capable and capsule form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12230, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
capable is recorded at frequency rank #1,222, classified as anadj, pronounced \ka.pabl\. capsule is at rank #11,008, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kap.syl\.
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 12230, this pair ranks #406,085 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "capable" and "capsule" be used interchangeably?
Remembering capable vs capsule
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “capable”; for a noun, it's “capsule”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “capable” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable