Which to use
“commun” is an adjective and “commune” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,022
- “commun” frequency rank
- #917
- “commune” frequency rank
- 1939
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | commun | commune |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui sert, qui peut servir à tout le monde ou seulement à plusieurs personnes. | Division du territoire. |
Where the eye mixes commun and commune
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between commun and commune
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: commun is \kɔ.mœ̃\ while commune is \kɔ.myn\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “commun” sits inside “commune”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1939, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
commun is recorded at frequency rank #1,022, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ.mœ̃\. commune is at rank #917, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.myn\.
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 1939, this pair ranks #437,090 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of commun vs commune
Shared letters: cmnou. Private to "commun": -. Private to "commune": e.
"commun" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "commune" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "commun" and "commune" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "commun" or "commune"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "commun" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "commune" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #437,090 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "commun" and "commune" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "commune vs communier". 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 #437,090 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.