Which to use
“cent” is an adjective and “cont” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,854
- “cent” frequency rank
- #44,949
- “cont” frequency rank
- 46803
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cent | cont |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Quatre-vingt-dix-neuf plus un, soit dix fois dix, correspondant au nombre 100. | Compte. |
Where the eye mixes cent and cont
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cent and cont
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cent is \sɑ̃\ while cont is \ˈkont\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “cent” becomes o in “cont”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46803, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cent is recorded at frequency rank #1,854, classified as anadj, pronounced \sɑ̃\. cont is at rank #44,949, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈkont\.
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 46803, this pair ranks #191,947 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cent vs cont
Shared letters: cnt. Private to "cent": e. Private to "cont": o.
"cent" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cont" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cent" and "cont" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "cent" or "cont"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cont" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #191,947 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cent" and "cont" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conde vs cont". 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 #191,947 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.