Which to use
“caunes” is a noun and “crues” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,696
- “caunes” frequency rank
- #15,117
- “crues” frequency rank
- 56813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caunes | crues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de caune. | Féminin pluriel de cru. |
Where the eye mixes caunes and crues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. caunes runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against crues's 5 (CCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses caunes with crues
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caunes is \kon\ while crues is \kʁy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caunes is recorded at frequency rank #41,696, classified as anoun, pronounced \kon\. crues is at rank #15,117, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kʁy\.
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 56813, this pair ranks #118,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of caunes vs crues
Shared letters: cesu. Private to "caunes": an. Private to "crues": r.
"caunes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "crues" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "caunes" for "crues" ever safe?
Which is more common, "caunes" or "crues"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "caunes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caunes" and "crues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caunes vs causses". 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 #118,747 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.