contenancevsconvenancesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,312
“contenance” frequency rank
#46,676
“convenances” frequency rank
72988
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contenance convenances
Definition Capacité ou étendue superficielle. Pluriel de convenance.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contenance and convenances apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
contenance
11 ch
convenances

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contenance (\kɔ̃t.nɑ̃s\) and convenances (\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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72988, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

contenance is recorded at frequency rank #26,312, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃t.nɑ̃s\. convenances is at rank #46,676, 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 72988, this pair ranks #42,079 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of contenance vs convenances

Shared letters: aceno. Private to "contenance": t. Private to "convenances": sv.

"contenance" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV  ·  "convenances" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contenanceccontenance · cnotenance · conetnance · conntenance · conteannce · contenacne · contenancce · contenanec
  • convenancescconvenances · cnovenances · conevnances · connvenances · conveannces · convenacnes · convenancces · convenancess

Frequency comparison

contenance#26,312
convenances#46,676

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contenance" and "convenances" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃t.nɑ̃s\ versus \kɔ̃v.nɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contenance" or "convenances"?
"contenance" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,312 in our French list, against #46,676 for "convenances". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contenance vs convenances

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 “contenance” 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