cecvsceiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cec is a adjective, cei is an article, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cec” is an adjective and “cei” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#46,636
“cec” frequency rank
#31,876
“cei” frequency rank
78512
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cec cei
Definition Aveugle. Article adjectival (ou démonstratif) nominatif et accusatif masculin pluriel, généralement traduit par « les ».

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
cec
3 ch
cei

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: cec is anadjective and ceianarticle. On the page they differ by a single letter - c in “cec” becomes i in “cei”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78512, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cec is recorded at frequency rank #46,636, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈsek\. cei is at rank #31,876, tagged as anarticle.

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 78512, this pair ranks #25,552 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cec vs cei

Shared letters: ce. Private to "cec": -. Private to "cei": i.

"cec" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "cei" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

cec#46,636
cei#31,876

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cec" and "cei" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cec" is an adjective and "cei" an article, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cec" or "cei"?
"cei" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,876 in our French list, against #46,636 for "cec". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cec vs cei

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cec”; for an article, it's “cei”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cec” 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