Which to use
“cil” and “cri” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,611
- “cil” frequency rank
- #5,649
- “cri” frequency rank
- 39260
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cil | cri |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Poil des paupières. | Action de crier, son perçant ou puissant émis par la voix d’un être humain ou d’un animal. |
Where the eye mixes cil and cri
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cil with cri
A purely visual mix-up. cil (\sil\) and cri (\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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cil is recorded at frequency rank #33,611, classified as anoun, pronounced \sil\. cri is at rank #5,649, 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 39260, this pair ranks #249,312 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cil vs cri
Shared letters: ci. Private to "cil": l. Private to "cri": r.
"cil" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "cri" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cil" for "cri" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cil" or "cri"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #249,312 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cil" and "cri" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cil vs ciro". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #249,312 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.