centainevscentimeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,734
“centaine” frequency rank
#16,827
“centime” frequency rank
21561
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature centaine centime
Definition Un nombre de cent ou environ. La centième partie du franc.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set centaine and centime apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
centaine
7 ch
centime

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. centaine (\sɑ̃.tɛn\) and centime (\sɑ̃.tim\) 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 21561, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

centaine is recorded at frequency rank #4,734, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃.tɛn\. centime is at rank #16,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃.tim\.

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 21561, this pair ranks #362,527 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of centaine vs centime

Shared letters: ceint. Private to "centaine": a. Private to "centime": m.

"centaine" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "centime" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • centaineccentaine · cenatine · cenntaine · centaien · centainne · centanie · centiane · centtaine
  • centimeccentime · cenitme · cenntime · centiem · centimme · centmie · centtime · cetnime

Frequency comparison

centaine#4,734
centime#16,827

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "centaine" and "centime" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\sɑ̃.tɛn\ versus \sɑ̃.tim\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "centaine" or "centime"?
"centaine" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,734 in our French list, against #16,827 for "centime". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering centaine vs centime

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 “centaine” 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