Which to use
“cont” and “copy” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,949
- “cont” frequency rank
- #43,360
- “copy” frequency rank
- 88309
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cont | copy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Compte. | Copie. |
Where the eye mixes cont and copy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. cont (CVCC) and copy (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: cont vs copy
A purely visual mix-up. cont (\ˈkont\) and copy (\ˈkɒp.i\) 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 88309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cont is recorded at frequency rank #44,949, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈkont\. copy is at rank #43,360, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈkɒp.i\.
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 88309, this pair ranks #7,165 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cont vs copy
Shared letters: co. Private to "cont": nt. Private to "copy": py.
"cont" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "copy" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cont" for "copy" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cont" vs "copy" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cont" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "copy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #7,165 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cont" and "copy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conde vs cont". 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 #7,165 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.