Which to use
“compter” is a verb and “compteur” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,323
- “compter” frequency rank
- #7,801
- “compteur” frequency rank
- 9124
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compter | compteur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Déterminer (une quantité, un nombre), plus particulièrement par un dénombrement, sinon par un calcul. | Celui qui compte. |
Where the eye mixes compter and compteur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between compter and compteur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: compter is \kɔ̃.te\ while compteur is \kɔ̃.tœʁ\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compter is recorded at frequency rank #1,323, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.te\. compteur is at rank #7,801, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.tœʁ\.
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 9124, this pair ranks #417,724 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compter vs compteur
Shared letters: cemoprt. Private to "compter": -. Private to "compteur": u.
"compter" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "compteur" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "compter" and "compteur" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "compter" vs "compteur" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "compter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "compteur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #417,724 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compter" and "compteur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comptées vs compteur". 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 #417,724 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.