cesservscesseraWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,219
“cesser” frequency rank
#22,509
“cessera” frequency rank
27728
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cesser cessera
Definition Discontinuer ; arrêter ; finir ; interrompre ; terminer. Troisième personne du singulier du futur du verbe cesser.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cesser and cessera apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cesser
7 ch
cessera

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cesser (\se.se\) and cessera (\sɛ.sə.ʁa\) 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 extra letter(s) - “cesser” sits inside “cessera”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cesser is recorded at frequency rank #5,219, classified as averb, pronounced \se.se\. cessera is at rank #22,509, tagged as averb, pronounced \sɛ.sə.ʁa\.

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 27728, this pair ranks #327,163 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cesser vs cessera

Shared letters: cers. Private to "cesser": -. Private to "cessera": a.

"cesser" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "cessera" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cesserccesser · ceser · cesesr · cesserr · cessre · cseser · ecsser
  • cesseraccessera · cesera · cesesra · cessear · cesserra · cessrea · csesera · ecssera

Frequency comparison

cesser#5,219
cessera#22,509

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cesser" and "cessera" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\se.se\ versus \sɛ.sə.ʁa\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cesser" or "cessera"?
"cesser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,219 in our French list, against #22,509 for "cessera". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cesser vs cessera

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 “cesser” 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