codevscorkWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“code” and “cork” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#818
“code” frequency rank
#46,088
“cork” frequency rank
46906
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature code cork
Definition Ensemble de lois ou d’ordonnances relatives à une matière spéciale ou réunies par le législateur. Saut composé d'une rotation faisant passer la planche par dessus la tête.

Where the eye mixes code and cork

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
code
4 ch
cork

Why the eye confuses code with cork

A purely visual mix-up. code (\kɔd\) and cork (\kɔʁk\) 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 46906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

code is recorded at frequency rank #818, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔd\. cork is at rank #46,088, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁk\.

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 46906, this pair ranks #191,117 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of code vs cork

Shared letters: co. Private to "code": de. Private to "cork": kr.

"code" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cork" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • codeccode · cdoe · codde · coed
  • corkccork · cokr · corkk · corrk · crok · ocrk

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "code" and "cork" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔd\ versus \kɔʁk\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "code" or "cork"?
"code" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #818 in our French list, against #46,088 for "cork". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "code" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cork" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #191,117 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "code" and "cork" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ciro vs cork". 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 #191,117 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list