colèrevscompèreConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,857
“colère” frequency rank
#30,532
“compère” frequency rank
32389
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature colère compère
Definition Réaction vive et parfois violente contre ce qui blesse un sentiment. Parrain d’un enfant, par rapport à la marraine et aux parents de l'enfant.

Where the eye mixes colère and compère

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
colère
7 ch
compère

Visual trap between colère and compère

A purely visual mix-up. colère (\kɔ.lɛʁ\) and compère (\kɔ̃.pɛʁ\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

colère is recorded at frequency rank #1,857, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.lɛʁ\. compère is at rank #30,532, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pɛʁ\.

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 32389, this pair ranks #297,612 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of colère vs compère

Shared letters: ceorè. Private to "colère": l. Private to "compère": mp.

"colère" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "compère" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "colère" for "compère" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ.lɛʁ\ versus \kɔ̃.pɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "colère" vs "compère" - which ranks higher?
"colère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,857 in our French list, against #30,532 for "compère". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "colère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compère" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,612 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "colère" and "compère" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "commère vs compère". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #297,612 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