Which to use
“caresse” and “crosse” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,747
- “caresse” frequency rank
- #16,332
- “crosse” frequency rank
- 30079
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caresse | crosse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Témoignage d’affection, de tendresse ou de sensualité que l’on donne à quelqu’un, en geste ou en paroles. | Bâton pastoral d’évêque ou d’abbé, dont l’extrémité supérieure se recourbe en volute. |
Where the eye mixes caresse and crosse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between caresse and crosse
A purely visual mix-up. caresse (\ka.ʁɛs\) and crosse (\kʁɔs\) 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 30079, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caresse is recorded at frequency rank #13,747, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.ʁɛs\. crosse is at rank #16,332, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁɔs\.
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 30079, this pair ranks #312,595 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of caresse vs crosse
Shared letters: cers. Private to "caresse": a. Private to "crosse": o.
"caresse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "crosse" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "caresse" for "crosse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "caresse" vs "crosse" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "caresse" and "crosse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "caresse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crosse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #312,595 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caresse" and "crosse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crosse vs crosses". 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 #312,595 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.