Which to use
“cens” and “cernes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,698
- “cens” frequency rank
- #29,275
- “cernes” frequency rank
- 68973
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cens | cernes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Redevance de toute nature que certains biens devaient annuellement au seigneur du fief dont ils relevaient. | Pluriel de cerne. |
Where the eye mixes cens and cernes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cens runs 4 letters (CVCC) against cernes's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cens vs cernes
A purely visual mix-up. cens (\sɑ̃s\) and cernes (\sɛʁn\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68973, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cens is recorded at frequency rank #39,698, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃s\. cernes is at rank #29,275, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɛʁn\.
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 68973, this pair ranks #56,989 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cens vs cernes
Shared letters: cens. Private to "cens": -. Private to "cernes": r.
"cens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cernes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cens" for "cernes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cens" vs "cernes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cernes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #56,989 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cens" and "cernes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cens vs CNE". 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 #56,989 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.