Which to use
“cartel” and “chartes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,878
- “cartel” frequency rank
- #17,369
- “chartes” frequency rank
- 32247
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cartel | chartes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Écrit par lequel on défiait quelqu’un pour un combat singulier. Défi par écrit pour un combat dans une fête, aux tournois, ou en duel solennel. | Pluriel de charte. |
Where the eye mixes cartel and chartes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cartel with chartes
A purely visual mix-up. cartel (\kaʁ.tɛl\) and chartes (\ʃaʁt\) 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 32247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cartel is recorded at frequency rank #14,878, classified as anoun, pronounced \kaʁ.tɛl\. chartes is at rank #17,369, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃaʁt\.
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 32247, this pair ranks #298,517 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cartel vs chartes
Shared letters: acert. Private to "cartel": l. Private to "chartes": hs.
"cartel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "chartes" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cartel" and "chartes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "cartel" or "chartes"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cartel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chartes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #298,517 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cartel" and "chartes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "charmée vs chartes". 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 #298,517 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.