civscruWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ci is a adverb, cru is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#264
“ci” frequency rank
#1,326
“cru” frequency rank
1590
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ci cru
Definition ou (Utilisé uniquement dans les compositions, pas utilisé isolément) Ici. Qui n’est pas cuit.

Where the eye mixes ci and cru

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
ci
3 ch
cru

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ci is \si\ while cru is \kʁy\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1590, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ci is recorded at frequency rank #264, classified as anadv, pronounced \si\. cru is at rank #1,326, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kʁy\.

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 1590, this pair ranks #437,770 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ci vs cru

Shared letters: c. Private to "ci": i. Private to "cru": ru.

"ci" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "cru" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ci" and "cru" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ci" is an adverb and "cru" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ci" or "cru"?
"ci" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #264 in our French list, against #1,326 for "cru". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list