Which to use
“contents” and “contenus” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,366
- “contents” frequency rank
- #5,233
- “contenus” frequency rank
- 13599
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contents | contenus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de content. | Masculin pluriel de contenu. |
Where the eye mixes contents and contenus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contents (CVCCVCCC) and contenus (CVCCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between contents and contenus
A purely visual mix-up. contents (\kɔ̃.tɑ̃\) and contenus (\kɔ̃t.ny\) 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 a single letter - t in “contents” becomes u in “contenus”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13599, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contents is recorded at frequency rank #8,366, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.tɑ̃\. contenus is at rank #5,233, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃t.ny\.
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 13599, this pair ranks #400,339 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contents vs contenus
Shared letters: cenost. Private to "contents": -. Private to "contenus": u.
"contents" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC · "contenus" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contents" for "contenus" ever safe?
Which is more common, "contents" or "contenus"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "contents" and "contenus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "contents" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contenus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #400,339 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contents" and "contenus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contentée vs contents". 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 #400,339 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.