Which to use
“cinq” is an adjective and “circ” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #424
- “cinq” frequency rank
- #39,213
- “circ” frequency rank
- 39637
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cinq | circ |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Adjectif numéral correspondant au cardinal quatre plus un. | Cirque, lieu destiné, chez les Romains, à accueillir les jeux publics |
Where the eye mixes cinq and circ
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cinq with circ
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cinq is \sɛ̃k\ while circ is \ˈsiɾk\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cinq is recorded at frequency rank #424, classified as anadj, pronounced \sɛ̃k\. circ is at rank #39,213, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈsiɾk\.
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 39637, this pair ranks #246,497 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cinq vs circ
Shared letters: ci. Private to "cinq": nq. Private to "circ": r.
"cinq" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "circ" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cinq" and "circ" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cinq" or "circ"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cinq" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "circ" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #246,497 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cinq" and "circ" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "circ vs ciro". 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 #246,497 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.