Which to use
“caractère” and “cratère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,320
- “caractère” frequency rank
- #19,496
- “cratère” frequency rank
- 20816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caractère | cratère |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Empreinte, marque, figure tracée sur une surface quelconque avec une plume, un burin, un ciseau ou de toute autre manière, et à laquelle on attribue une signification. | Vase à deux anses, plus large que profond, d’une grande capacité, contenant du vin et de l’eau mêlés, dont on remplissait les coupes qu’on passait ensuite à chaque convive. |
Where the eye mixes caractère and cratère
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. caractère runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCV) against cratère's 7 (CCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses caractère with cratère
A purely visual mix-up. caractère (\ka.ʁak.tɛʁ\) and cratère (\kʁa.tɛʁ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caractère is recorded at frequency rank #1,320, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.ʁak.tɛʁ\. cratère is at rank #19,496, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁa.tɛʁ\.
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 20816, this pair ranks #366,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of caractère vs cratère
Shared letters: acertè. Private to "caractère": -. Private to "cratère": -.
"caractère" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "cratère" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caractère" and "cratère" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "caractère" vs "cratère" - 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 "caractère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cratère" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #366,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caractère" and "cratère" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cratère vs cratères". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #366,354 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.