Which to use
“contraints” and “contraires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,750
- “contraints” frequency rank
- #11,377
- “contraires” frequency rank
- 24127
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contraints | contraires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de contraint. | Pluriel de contraire. |
Where the eye mixes contraints and contraires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contraints (CVCCCVVCCC) and contraires (CVCCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: contraints vs contraires
A purely visual mix-up. contraints (\kɔ̃.tʁɛ̃\) and contraires (\kɔ̃.tʁɛʁ\) 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 24127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contraints is recorded at frequency rank #12,750, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.tʁɛ̃\. contraires is at rank #11,377, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.tʁɛʁ\.
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 24127, this pair ranks #348,440 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contraints vs contraires
Shared letters: acinorst. Private to "contraints": -. Private to "contraires": e.
"contraints" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCCC · "contraires" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contraints ← ccontraints · cnotraints · conntraints · conrtaints · contarints · contrainnts · contrainst · contraintss
- contraires ← ccontraires · cnotraires · conntraires · conrtaires · contarires · contraiers · contrairess · contrairres
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contraints" for "contraires" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "contraints" or "contraires" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "contraints" and "contraires" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "contraints" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contraires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,440 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contraints" and "contraires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contraires vs contrastés". 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 #348,440 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.