Which to use
“ce” is a determiner and “Cte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25
- “ce” frequency rank
- #42,264
- “Cte” frequency rank
- 42289
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ce | Cte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | Comte. |
Where the eye mixes ce and Cte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ce with Cte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ce is \sə\ while Cte is \kɔ̃t\. 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 (determiner vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ce is recorded at frequency rank #25, classified as adet, pronounced \sə\. Cte is at rank #42,264, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃t\.
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 42289, this pair ranks #226,732 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ce vs Cte
Shared letters: ce. Private to "ce": -. Private to "Cte": t.
"ce" · 2 letters · shape CV · "Cte" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ce" for "Cte" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ce" or "Cte"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ce" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Cte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #226,732 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ce" and "Cte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs Cte". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #226,732 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.