confèrevscoopèreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“confère” and “coopère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,938
“confère” frequency rank
#37,748
“coopère” frequency rank
49686
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature confère coopère
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de conférer. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de coopérer.

Where the eye mixes confère and coopère

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
confère
7 ch
coopère

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. confère (\kɔ̃.fɛʁ\) and coopère (\kɔ.ɔ.pɛʁ\) 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 49686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

confère is recorded at frequency rank #11,938, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.fɛʁ\. coopère is at rank #37,748, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ.ɔ.pɛʁ\.

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 49686, this pair ranks #168,649 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of confère vs coopère

Shared letters: ceorè. Private to "confère": fn. Private to "coopère": p.

"confère" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "coopère" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "confère" and "coopère" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.fɛʁ\ versus \kɔ.ɔ.pɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "confère" or "coopère"?
"confère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,938 in our French list, against #37,748 for "coopère". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list