Which to use
“colles” and “copies” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,596
- “colles” frequency rank
- #7,041
- “copies” frequency rank
- 32637
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | colles | copies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de colle. | Pluriel de copie. |
Where the eye mixes colles and copies
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses colles with copies
A purely visual mix-up. colles (\kɔl\) and copies (\kɔ.pi\) 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 32637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
colles is recorded at frequency rank #25,596, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔl\. copies is at rank #7,041, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.pi\.
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 32637, this pair ranks #295,978 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of colles vs copies
Shared letters: ceos. Private to "colles": l. Private to "copies": ip.
"colles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "copies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "colles" for "copies" ever safe?
Frequency check: "colles" vs "copies" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "colles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "copies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #295,978 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "colles" and "copies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "colla vs colles". 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 #295,978 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.