céda vs cei, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#38,740
“céda” frequency rank: #31,876
“cei” frequency rank: 70616
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	céda	cei
Definition	Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple du verbe céder.	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 céda and cei apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

céda

3 ch

cei

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: céda is averb and ceianarticle. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

céda is recorded at frequency rank #38,740, classified as averb, pronounced \se.da\. 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 70616, this pair ranks #50,684 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of céda vs cei

Shared letters: c. Private to "céda": adé. Private to "cei": ei.

"céda" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cei" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

céda#38,740

cei#31,876

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "céda" and "cei" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "céda" is a verb and "cei" an article, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "céda" or "cei"?

"cei" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,876 in our French list, against #38,740 for "céda". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering céda vs cei

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “céda”; for an article, it's “cei”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “céda” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable