Which to use
“certes” is an adverb and “cites” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,653
- “certes” frequency rank
- #28,100
- “cites” frequency rank
- 29753
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | certes | cites |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En vérité, sans mentir. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent du verbe citer. |
Where the eye mixes certes and cites
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses certes with cites
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: certes is \sɛʁt\ while cites is \sit\. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29753, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
certes is recorded at frequency rank #1,653, classified as anadv, pronounced \sɛʁt\. cites is at rank #28,100, tagged as averb, pronounced \sit\.
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 29753, this pair ranks #314,710 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of certes vs cites
Shared letters: cest. Private to "certes": r. Private to "cites": i.
"certes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cites" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "certes" for "cites" ever safe?
Which is more common, "certes" or "cites"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "certes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cites" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #314,710 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "certes" and "cites" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cakes vs cites". 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 #314,710 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.