Which to use
“coffre” and “coiffe” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,534
- “coffre” frequency rank
- #18,964
- “coiffe” frequency rank
- 24498
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coffre | coiffe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Meuble en forme de caisse, en bois ou en métal, propre à enfermer diverses choses. | Couvre-chef destiné à couvrir la tête des femmes. |
Where the eye mixes coffre and coiffe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between coffre and coiffe
A purely visual mix-up. coffre (\kɔfʁ\) and coiffe (\kwaf\) 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 24498, 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\. coiffe is at rank #18,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kwaf\.
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 24498, this pair ranks #346,282 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coffre vs coiffe
Shared letters: cefo. Private to "coffre": r. Private to "coiffe": i.
"coffre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "coiffe" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "coffre" and "coiffe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "coffre" vs "coiffe" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "coffre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coiffe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #346,282 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coffre" and "coiffe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "codifié vs coiffe". 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 #346,282 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.