Which to use
“coffre” and “coffret” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,534
- “coffre” frequency rank
- #11,733
- “coffret” frequency rank
- 17267
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coffre | coffret |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Meuble en forme de caisse, en bois ou en métal, propre à enfermer diverses choses. | Petit coffre. |
Where the eye mixes coffre and coffret
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses coffre with coffret
A purely visual mix-up. coffre (\kɔfʁ\) and coffret (\kɔ.fʁɛ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “coffre” sits inside “coffret”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coffre is recorded at frequency rank #5,534, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔfʁ\. coffret is at rank #11,733, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.fʁɛ\.
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 17267, this pair ranks #384,001 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coffre vs coffret
Shared letters: cefor. Private to "coffre": -. Private to "coffret": t.
"coffre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "coffret" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coffre" for "coffret" ever safe?
Which is more common, "coffre" or "coffret"?
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 "coffre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coffret" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #384,001 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coffre" and "coffret" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coffre vs courre". 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 #384,001 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.