cdrvscerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,697
“cdr” frequency rank
#46,052
“cer” frequency rank
85749
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cdr cer
Definition La seconde partie du doublet en LISP, qui pointe le reste d’une liste. Ciel.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cdr and cer apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
cdr
3 ch
cer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cdr (\ku.dœʁ\) and cer (\ˈʧeɾ\) 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 a single letter - d in “cdr” becomes e in “cer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85749, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cdr is recorded at frequency rank #39,697, classified as anoun, pronounced \ku.dœʁ\. cer is at rank #46,052, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈʧeɾ\.

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 85749, this pair ranks #10,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cdr vs cer

Shared letters: cr. Private to "cdr": d. Private to "cer": e.

"cdr" · 3 letters · shape CCC  ·  "cer" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

cdr#39,697
cer#46,052

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cdr" and "cer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ku.dœʁ\ versus \ˈʧeɾ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cdr" or "cer"?
"cdr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,697 in our French list, against #46,052 for "cer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cdr vs cer

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 “cdr” 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