Which to use
“contenir” and “contenter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,070
- “contenir” frequency rank
- #6,693
- “contenter” frequency rank
- 12763
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contenir | contenter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Avoir une certaine contenance, comprendre dans certain espace, dans certaine étendue. | Rendre quelqu’un content en lui procurant ce qu’il souhaite avoir. |
Where the eye mixes contenir and contenter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contenir runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against contenter's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between contenir and contenter
A purely visual mix-up. contenir (\kɔ̃t.niʁ\) and contenter (\kɔ̃.tɑ̃.te\) 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 12763, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contenir is recorded at frequency rank #6,070, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃t.niʁ\. contenter is at rank #6,693, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.tɑ̃.te\.
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 12763, this pair ranks #403,870 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contenir vs contenter
Shared letters: cenort. Private to "contenir": i. Private to "contenter": -.
"contenir" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "contenter" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contenir" for "contenter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contenir" vs "contenter" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contenir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contenter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #403,870 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contenir" and "contenter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contentée vs contenter". 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 #403,870 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.