Which to use
“CDU” is a noun and “cet” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,795
- “CDU” frequency rank
- #174
- “cet” frequency rank
- 23969
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | CDU | cet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Critère de défaillance unique. | Variante de ce devant une voyelle. |
Where the eye mixes CDU and cet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: CDU vs cet
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: CDU is \se.de.y\ while cet is \sɛt\. 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 23969, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
CDU is recorded at frequency rank #23,795, classified as anoun, pronounced \se.de.y\. cet is at rank #174, tagged as adet, pronounced \sɛt\.
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 23969, this pair ranks #349,409 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of CDU vs cet
Shared letters: c. Private to "CDU": du. Private to "cet": et.
"CDU" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "cet" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "CDU" for "cet" ever safe?
Which is more common, "CDU" or "cet"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "CDU" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #349,409 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "CDU" and "cet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs CDU". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #349,409 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.