Which to use
“CDI” is a noun and “ces” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,686
- “CDI” frequency rank
- #74
- “ces” frequency rank
- 6760
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | CDI | ces |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contrat à durée indéterminée, type de contrat de travail en France. | Pluriel de ce et cette. |
Where the eye mixes CDI and ces
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses CDI with ces
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: CDI is \se.de.i\ while ces is \se\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6760, 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\. ces is at rank #74, tagged as adet, pronounced \se\.
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 6760, this pair ranks #425,314 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of CDI vs ces
Shared letters: c. Private to "CDI": di. Private to "ces": es.
"CDI" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "ces" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "CDI" and "ces" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "CDI" or "ces"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "CDI" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ces" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #425,314 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "CDI" and "ces" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs CDI". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #425,314 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.