Which to use
“Cergy” is a name and “clergé” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,262
- “Cergy” frequency rank
- #8,821
- “clergé” frequency rank
- 30083
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Cergy | clergé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Commune et chef-lieu de département français, situé dans le département du Val-d’Oise. | Corps des ecclésiastiques, organisé selon une hiérarchie ecclésiale. |
Where the eye mixes Cergy and clergé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Cergy runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against clergé's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Cergy and clergé
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Cergy is \sɛʁ.ʒi\ while clergé is \klɛʁ.ʒe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30083, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Cergy is recorded at frequency rank #21,262, classified as aname, pronounced \sɛʁ.ʒi\. clergé is at rank #8,821, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɛʁ.ʒe\.
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 30083, this pair ranks #312,578 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Cergy vs clergé
Shared letters: cegr. Private to "Cergy": y. Private to "clergé": lé.
"Cergy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "clergé" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Cergy ← ccergy · cegry · cerggy · cergyy · cerrgy · ceryg · cregy · ecrgy
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Cergy" for "clergé" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "Cergy" or "clergé" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Cergy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clergé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #312,578 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Cergy" and "clergé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cer vs Cergy". 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 #312,578 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.