Which to use
“cela” and “ceux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #150
- “cela” frequency rank
- #175
- “ceux” frequency rank
- 325
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cela | ceux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cette chose-là, par opposition à cette chose-ci. — Note d’usage : Pronom démonstratif neutre permettant de remplacer un objet distant (ou un être vivant dont on ignore la nature). En revanche (à l’inverse du pronom ceci), il ne remplace jamais une personne. | Masculin pluriel de celui. |
Where the eye mixes cela and ceux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cela with ceux
A purely visual mix-up. cela (\sə.la\) and ceux (\sø\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cela is recorded at frequency rank #150, classified as apron, pronounced \sə.la\. ceux is at rank #175, tagged as apron, pronounced \sø\.
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 325, this pair ranks #439,810 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cela vs ceux
Shared letters: ce. Private to "cela": al. Private to "ceux": ux.
"cela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "ceux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cela" for "ceux" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cela" or "ceux"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ceux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #439,810 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cela" and "ceux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cela vs colla". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #439,810 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.