coincidencevscoïncidentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: coincidence is a noun, coïncident is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“coincidence” is a noun and “coïncident” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,206
“coincidence” frequency rank
#37,256
“coïncident” frequency rank
75462
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature coincidence coïncident
Definition Coïncidence. Qui coïncide dans l’espace et dans le temps.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set coincidence and coïncident apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
coincidence
10 ch
coïncident

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

coincidence and coïncident form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

coincidence is recorded at frequency rank #38,206, classified as anoun, pronounced \kəʊ.ˈɪn.sɪ.dəns\. coïncident is at rank #37,256, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ.ɛ̃.si.dɑ̃\.

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 75462, this pair ranks #34,035 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

coincidence#38,206
coïncident#37,256

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "coincidence" and "coïncident" be used interchangeably?
No, "coincidence" and "coïncident" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering coincidence vs coïncident

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “coincidence”; for an adjective, it's “coïncident”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “coincidence” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list