cartevscaseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#716
“carte” frequency rank
#4,916
“case” frequency rank
5632
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature carte case
Definition Représentation géométrique conventionnelle, en positions relatives, de phénomènes concrets ou abstraits (pays, région, ville, astres dans le ciel, etc.), localisables dans l’espace, à échelle réduite. Petite habitation traditionnelle, sous les tropiques.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set carte and case apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
carte
4 ch
case

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

carte and case form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

carte is recorded at frequency rank #716, classified as anoun, pronounced \kaʁt\. case is at rank #4,916, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kaz\.

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 5632, this pair ranks #428,484 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

carte#716
case#4,916

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "carte" and "case" be used interchangeably?
No, "carte" and "case" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering carte vs case

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 “carte” 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