Which to use
“centaines” and “container” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,262
- “centaines” frequency rank
- #30,109
- “container” frequency rank
- 32371
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | centaines | container |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de centaine (au sens numérique). | Conteneur. |
Where the eye mixes centaines and container
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between centaines and container
A purely visual mix-up. centaines (\sɑ̃.tɛn\) and container (\kɔ̃.tɛ.nɛʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32371, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
centaines is recorded at frequency rank #2,262, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃.tɛn\. container is at rank #30,109, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.tɛ.nɛʁ\.
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 32371, this pair ranks #297,738 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of centaines vs container
Shared letters: aceint. Private to "centaines": s. Private to "container": or.
"centaines" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "container" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "centaines" for "container" ever safe?
Which is more common, "centaines" or "container"?
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 "centaines" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "container" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,738 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "centaines" and "container" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "confiner vs container". 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 #297,738 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.