coniquevscriqueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: conique is a adjective, crique is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“conique” is an adjective and “crique” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,017
“conique” frequency rank
#32,361
“crique” frequency rank
59378
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature conique crique
Definition En forme de cône. Petite baie, partie du rivage qui forme dans les terres un enfoncement où de petits bateaux peuvent se mettre à l’abri.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set conique and crique apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
conique
6 ch
crique

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: conique is \kɔ.nik\ while crique is \kʁik\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59378, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

conique is recorded at frequency rank #27,017, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ.nik\. crique is at rank #32,361, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁik\.

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 59378, this pair ranks #103,520 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of conique vs crique

Shared letters: ceiqu. Private to "conique": no. Private to "crique": r.

"conique" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "crique" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • coniquecconique · cnoique · coinque · coniqeu · coniqque · coniuqe · connique · conqiue
  • criqueccrique · criqeu · criqque · criuqe · crqiue · crrique · rcique

Frequency comparison

conique#27,017
crique#32,361

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "conique" and "crique" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "conique" is an adjective and "crique" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "conique" or "crique"?
"conique" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,017 in our French list, against #32,361 for "crique". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering conique vs crique

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “conique”; for a noun, it's “crique”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “conique” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list