Which to use
“combes” and “coms” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,288
- “combes” frequency rank
- #36,773
- “coms” frequency rank
- 66061
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | combes | coms |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de combe. | Abréviation populaire de commissions. |
Where the eye mixes combes and coms
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses combes with coms
A purely visual mix-up. combes (\kɔ̃b\) and coms (\kɔm\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66061, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
combes is recorded at frequency rank #29,288, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃b\. coms is at rank #36,773, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔm\.
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 66061, this pair ranks #69,507 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of combes vs coms
Shared letters: cmos. Private to "combes": be. Private to "coms": -.
"combes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "coms" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "combes" for "coms" ever safe?
Which is more common, "combes" or "coms"?
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 "combes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coms" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,507 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "combes" and "coms" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coms vs kom". 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 #69,507 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.