Which to use
“combien” is an adverb and “corbin” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #866
- “combien” frequency rank
- #38,729
- “corbin” frequency rank
- 39595
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | combien | corbin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En quelle quantité, en quel nombre. Note d’usage : Utilisé avec de, en. | Ancien synonyme de corbeau ou de grand corbeau (oiseau). |
Where the eye mixes combien and corbin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: combien vs corbin
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: combien is \kɔ̃.bjɛ̃\ while corbin is \kɔʁ.bɛ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
combien is recorded at frequency rank #866, classified as anadv, pronounced \kɔ̃.bjɛ̃\. corbin is at rank #38,729, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁ.bɛ̃\.
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 39595, this pair ranks #246,806 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of combien vs corbin
Shared letters: bcino. Private to "combien": em. Private to "corbin": r.
"combien" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "corbin" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "combien" and "corbin" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "combien" or "corbin" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "combien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "corbin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #246,806 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "combien" and "corbin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cardin vs corbin". 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 #246,806 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.