civsconWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ci is a adverb, con is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ci” is an adverb and “con” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#264
“ci” frequency rank
#1,056
“con” frequency rank
1320
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ci con
Definition ou (Utilisé uniquement dans les compositions, pas utilisé isolément) Ici. Sexe de la femme.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ci and con apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
ci
3 ch
con

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ci and con form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1320, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ci is recorded at frequency rank #264, classified as anadv, pronounced \si\. con is at rank #1,056, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃\.

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 1320, this pair ranks #438,267 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

ci#264
con#1,056

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ci" and "con" be used interchangeably?
No, "ci" and "con" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering ci vs con

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “ci”; for a noun, it's “con”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ci” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list