Which to use
“concentrer” and “contenter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,738
- “concentrer” frequency rank
- #6,693
- “contenter” frequency rank
- 11431
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | concentrer | contenter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Réunir en un centre ce qui est dispersé. | Rendre quelqu’un content en lui procurant ce qu’il souhaite avoir. |
Where the eye mixes concentrer and contenter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. concentrer runs 10 letters (CVCCVCCCVC) against contenter's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between concentrer and contenter
A purely visual mix-up. concentrer (\kɔ̃.sɑ̃.tʁe\) and contenter (\kɔ̃.tɑ̃.te\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11431, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
concentrer is recorded at frequency rank #4,738, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.sɑ̃.tʁe\. contenter is at rank #6,693, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.tɑ̃.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 11431, this pair ranks #409,170 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of concentrer vs contenter
Shared letters: cenort. Private to "concentrer": -. Private to "contenter": -.
"concentrer" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC · "contenter" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- concentrer ← cconcentrer · cnocentrer · cocnentrer · conccentrer · concenntrer · concenrter · concenterr · concentrerr
- contenter ← ccontenter · cnotenter · conetnter · conntenter · contenetr · contennter · contenterr · contentre
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "concentrer" for "contenter" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "concentrer" or "contenter" 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 "concentrer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contenter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #409,170 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "concentrer" and "contenter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contentée vs contenter". 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 #409,170 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.