Which to use
“comète” and “comtés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,931
- “comète” frequency rank
- #18,441
- “comtés” frequency rank
- 31372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | comète | comtés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Petit corps du système solaire ayant une orbite elliptique le rapprochant du Soleil, ce qui déclenche une période d’activité de son noyau et lui fait éjecter de la matière et du gaz ionisé sous forme de queues. | Pluriel de comté. |
Where the eye mixes comète and comtés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses comète with comtés
A purely visual mix-up. comète (\kɔ.mɛt\) and comtés (\kɔ̃.te\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31372, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
comète is recorded at frequency rank #12,931, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.mɛt\. comtés is at rank #18,441, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.te\.
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 31372, this pair ranks #304,205 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of comète vs comtés
Shared letters: cmot. Private to "comète": eè. Private to "comtés": sé.
"comète" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "comtés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "comète" for "comtés" ever safe?
Frequency check: "comète" vs "comtés" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "comète" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "comtés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #304,205 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "comète" and "comtés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comptées vs comtés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #304,205 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.