cerveauxvscorbeauxConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#12,927
“cerveaux” frequency rank
#21,895
“corbeaux” frequency rank
34822
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cerveaux corbeaux
Definition Pluriel de cerveau. Pluriel de corbeau.

Where the eye mixes cerveaux and corbeaux

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cerveaux and corbeaux follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
cerveaux
8 ch
corbeaux

Visual trap between cerveaux and corbeaux

A purely visual mix-up. cerveaux (\sɛʁ.vo\) and corbeaux (\kɔʁ.bo\) 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 34822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cerveaux is recorded at frequency rank #12,927, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɛʁ.vo\. corbeaux is at rank #21,895, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁ.bo\.

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 34822, this pair ranks #281,085 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cerveaux vs corbeaux

Shared letters: acerux. Private to "cerveaux": v. Private to "corbeaux": bo.

"cerveaux" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC  ·  "corbeaux" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cerveauxccerveaux · cerevaux · cerrveaux · cervaeux · cerveauxx · cerveaxu · cerveuax · cervveaux
  • corbeauxccorbeaux · cobreaux · corbaeux · corbbeaux · corbeauxx · corbeaxu · corbeuax · corebaux

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cerveaux" for "corbeaux" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\sɛʁ.vo\ versus \kɔʁ.bo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cerveaux" vs "corbeaux" - which ranks higher?
"cerveaux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,927 in our French list, against #21,895 for "corbeaux". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "cerveaux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "corbeaux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #281,085 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cerveaux" and "corbeaux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copeaux vs corbeaux". 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 #281,085 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list