censvsclinsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cens” and “clins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#39,698
“cens” frequency rank
#29,695
“clins” frequency rank
69393
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cens clins
Definition Redevance de toute nature que certains biens devaient annuellement au seigneur du fief dont ils relevaient. Pluriel de clin.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cens and clins apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
cens
5 ch
clins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cens (\sɑ̃s\) and clins (\klɛ̃\) 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 69393, 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\. clins is at rank #29,695, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɛ̃\.

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 69393, this pair ranks #55,291 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cens vs clins

Shared letters: cns. Private to "cens": e. Private to "clins": il.

"cens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "clins" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • censccens · cenns · censs · cesn · ecns
  • clinscclins · cilns · clinns · clinss · clisn · cllins · clnis · lcins

Frequency comparison

cens#39,698
clins#29,695

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cens" and "clins" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\sɑ̃s\ versus \klɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cens" or "clins"?
"clins" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,695 in our French list, against #39,698 for "cens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cens vs clins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cens” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list