centersvscontesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,779
“centers” frequency rank
#6,803
“contes” frequency rank
54582
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature centers contes
Definition Pluriel de center. Pluriel de conte.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set centers and contes apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
centers
6 ch
contes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. centers (\ˈsɛn.ɚz\) and contes (\kɔ̃t\) 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 54582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

centers is recorded at frequency rank #47,779, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈsɛn.ɚz\. contes is at rank #6,803, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃t\.

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 54582, this pair ranks #133,070 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of centers vs contes

Shared letters: censt. Private to "centers": r. Private to "contes": o.

"centers" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "contes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • centersccenters · cenetrs · cennters · centerrs · centerss · centesr · centters · cetners
  • contesccontes · cnotes · conets · conntes · contess · contse · conttes · cotnes

Frequency comparison

centers#47,779
contes#6,803

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "centers" and "contes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈsɛn.ɚz\ versus \kɔ̃t\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "centers" or "contes"?
"contes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,803 in our French list, against #47,779 for "centers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering centers vs contes

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 “centers” 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