Which to use
“cieux” is a noun and “creux” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,291
- “cieux” frequency rank
- #6,945
- “creux” frequency rank
- 17236
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cieux | creux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de ciel, utilisé dans un sens singulier. | Qui présente une cavité, un trou intérieur. |
Where the eye mixes cieux and creux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cieux (CVVVC) and creux (CCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between cieux and creux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cieux is \sjø\ while creux is \kʁø\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “cieux” becomes r in “creux”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cieux is recorded at frequency rank #10,291, classified as anoun, pronounced \sjø\. creux is at rank #6,945, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kʁø\.
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 17236, this pair ranks #384,166 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cieux vs creux
Shared letters: ceux. Private to "cieux": i. Private to "creux": r.
"cieux" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "creux" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cieux" and "creux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cieux" or "creux"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cieux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "creux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #384,166 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cieux" and "creux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crémeux vs creux". 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 #384,166 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.