Which to use
“CDI” is a noun and “ce” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,686
- “CDI” frequency rank
- #25
- “ce” frequency rank
- 6711
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | CDI | ce |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contrat à durée indéterminée, type de contrat de travail en France. | Déterminant utilisé pour mettre en évidence une chose ou une personne dont on a la représentation devant soi. Lorsque l’objet est en nombre multiple ou lorsqu’on veut appuyer encore plus sur ce qu’on veut montrer, on rajoute -ci ou -là (selon la distance) après le nom. |
Where the eye mixes CDI and ce
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: CDI vs ce
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: CDI is \se.de.i\ while ce is \sə\. 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 determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
CDI is recorded at frequency rank #6,686, classified as anoun, pronounced \se.de.i\. ce is at rank #25, tagged as adet, pronounced \sə\.
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 6711, this pair ranks #425,457 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of CDI vs ce
Shared letters: c. Private to "CDI": di. Private to "ce": e.
"CDI" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "ce" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "CDI" and "ce" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "CDI" vs "ce" - which ranks higher?
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 "CDI" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ce" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #425,457 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "CDI" and "ce" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs CDI". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #425,457 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.