Which to use
“confrère” is a noun and “contrer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,159
- “confrère” frequency rank
- #8,979
- “contrer” frequency rank
- 27138
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | confrère | contrer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Celui qui fait partie d’une compagnie, d’une société religieuse, littéraire, artistique, etc., particulièrement quand il a été admis par les autres membres à en faire partie. | Annoncer que l'on tient contre celui qui a le premier déclaré qu'il jouait, et qu'on compte le punir sévèrement. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set confrère and contrer apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: confrère is \kɔ̃.fʁɛʁ\ while contrer is \kɔ̃.tʁe\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27138, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
confrère is recorded at frequency rank #18,159, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.fʁɛʁ\. contrer is at rank #8,979, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.tʁe\.
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 27138, this pair ranks #330,859 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of confrère vs contrer
Shared letters: cenor. Private to "confrère": fè. Private to "contrer": t.
"confrère" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV · "contrer" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contrer ← ccontrer · cnotrer · conntrer · conrter · conterr · contrerr · contrrer · conttrer
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "confrère" and "contrer" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "confrère" or "contrer"?
Remembering confrère vs contrer
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “confrère”; for a verb, it's “contrer”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “confrère” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable