Which to use
“ciels” and “Cries” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,522
- “ciels” frequency rank
- #28,505
- “Cries” frequency rank
- 59027
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ciels | Cries |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de ciel (dans certains sens seulement comme la peinture, l’ameublement, la poésie). | Pluriel de Crie. |
Where the eye mixes ciels and Cries
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ciels and Cries
A purely visual mix-up. ciels (\sjɛl\) and Cries (\kʁi\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ciels is recorded at frequency rank #30,522, classified as anoun, pronounced \sjɛl\. Cries is at rank #28,505, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁi\.
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 59027, this pair ranks #105,507 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ciels vs Cries
Shared letters: ceis. Private to "ciels": l. Private to "Cries": r.
"ciels" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "Cries" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ciels" for "Cries" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ciels" or "Cries"?
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 "ciels" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Cries" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #105,507 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ciels" and "Cries" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "celi vs ciels". 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 #105,507 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.