consonancevsconvenanceWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,242
“consonance” frequency rank
#24,922
“convenance” frequency rank
67164
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature consonance convenance
Definition Accord de deux sons entendus simultanément et dont l’union plaît à l’oreille. Conformité, accord d’une chose avec une autre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set consonance and convenance apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
consonance
10 ch
convenance

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. consonance (\kɔ̃.sɔ.nɑ̃s\) and convenance (\kɔ̃v.nɑ̃s\) 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 67164, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

consonance is recorded at frequency rank #42,242, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.sɔ.nɑ̃s\. convenance is at rank #24,922, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃v.nɑ̃s\.

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 67164, this pair ranks #64,608 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of consonance vs convenance

Shared letters: aceno. Private to "consonance": s. Private to "convenance": v.

"consonance" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV  ·  "convenance" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • consonancecconsonance · cnosonance · connsonance · conosnance · consnoance · consoannce · consonacne · consonancce
  • convenancecconvenance · cnovenance · conevnance · connvenance · conveannce · convenacne · convenancce · convenanec

Frequency comparison

consonance#42,242
convenance#24,922

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "consonance" and "convenance" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.sɔ.nɑ̃s\ versus \kɔ̃v.nɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "consonance" or "convenance"?
"convenance" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,922 in our French list, against #42,242 for "consonance". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering consonance vs convenance

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “consonance” 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