céda vs cer, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#38,740
“céda” frequency rank: #46,052
“cer” frequency rank: 84792
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	céda	cer
Definition	Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple du verbe céder.	Ciel.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set céda and cer apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

céda

3 ch

cer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: céda is \se.da\ while cer is \ˈʧeɾ\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84792, 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\. 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 84792, this pair ranks #12,364 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of céda vs cer

Shared letters: c. Private to "céda": adé. Private to "cer": er.

"céda" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cer" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

céda#38,740

cer#46,052

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

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

"céda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,740 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 céda vs cer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “céda”; for a noun, it's “cer”.
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