Which to use
“cens” and “cesse” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,698
- “cens” frequency rank
- #2,464
- “cesse” frequency rank
- 42162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cens | cesse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Redevance de toute nature que certains biens devaient annuellement au seigneur du fief dont ils relevaient. | Fin, relâche. |
Where the eye mixes cens and cesse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cens runs 4 letters (CVCC) against cesse's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cens with cesse
A purely visual mix-up. cens (\sɑ̃s\) and cesse (\sɛs\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42162, 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\. cesse is at rank #2,464, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɛs\.
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 42162, this pair ranks #227,748 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cens vs cesse
Shared letters: ces. Private to "cens": n. Private to "cesse": -.
"cens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cesse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cens" for "cesse" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cens" or "cesse"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "cens" and "cesse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cesse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #227,748 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cens" and "cesse" 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 #227,748 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.