Which to use
“compétition” and “composition” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,906
- “compétition” frequency rank
- #2,564
- “composition” frequency rank
- 4470
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compétition | composition |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rivalité entre des personnes ou des organisations pour obtenir une récompense ou un avantage. | Action de composer quelque chose. |
Where the eye mixes compétition and composition
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: compétition vs composition
A purely visual mix-up. compétition (\kɔ̃.pe.ti.sjɔ̃\) and composition (\kɔ̃.pɔ.zi.sjɔ̃\) 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 4470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compétition is recorded at frequency rank #1,906, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.ti.sjɔ̃\. composition is at rank #2,564, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pɔ.zi.sjɔ̃\.
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 4470, this pair ranks #431,527 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compétition vs composition
Shared letters: cimnopt. Private to "compétition": é. Private to "composition": s.
"compétition" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVC · "composition" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- composition ← ccomposition · cmoposition · commposition · comopsition · compoistion · composiiton · compositino · compositionn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "compétition" and "composition" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "compétition" or "composition" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "compétition" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "composition" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #431,527 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compétition" and "composition" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compétition vs compétitive". 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 #431,527 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.