Which to use
“capteur” and “causeur” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,623
- “capteur” frequency rank
- #42,221
- “causeur” frequency rank
- 56844
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | capteur | causeur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui capte. | Qui aime à causer. |
Where the eye mixes capteur and causeur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. capteur (CVCCVVC) and causeur (CVVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between capteur and causeur
A purely visual mix-up. capteur (\kap.tœʁ\) and causeur (\ko.zœʁ\) 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 56844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
capteur is recorded at frequency rank #14,623, classified as anadj, pronounced \kap.tœʁ\. causeur is at rank #42,221, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ko.zœʁ\.
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 56844, this pair ranks #118,563 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of capteur vs causeur
Shared letters: aceru. Private to "capteur": pt. Private to "causeur": s.
"capteur" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "causeur" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "capteur" for "causeur" ever safe?
Frequency check: "capteur" vs "causeur" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "capteur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "causeur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,563 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "capteur" and "causeur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "casseur vs causeur". 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 #118,563 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.