Which to use
“contraire” is a noun and “contredire” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #868
- “contraire” frequency rank
- #13,759
- “contredire” frequency rank
- 14627
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contraire | contredire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Concept inverse, logiquement opposé. | Opposer à ce que quelqu’un vient de dire une affirmation absolument contraire. |
Where the eye mixes contraire and contredire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. contraire runs 9 letters (CVCCCVVCV) against contredire's 10 (CVCCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between contraire and contredire
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contraire is \kɔ̃.tʁɛʁ\ while contredire is \kɔ̃.tʁə.diʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contraire is recorded at frequency rank #868, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.tʁɛʁ\. contredire is at rank #13,759, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.tʁə.diʁ\.
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 14627, this pair ranks #395,861 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contraire vs contredire
Shared letters: ceinort. Private to "contraire": a. Private to "contredire": d.
"contraire" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVVCV · "contredire" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- contraire ← ccontraire · cnotraire · conntraire · conrtaire · contarire · contraier · contrairre · contriare
- contredire ← ccontredire · cnotredire · conntredire · conrtedire · conterdire · contrdeire · contreddire · contredier
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "contraire" and "contredire" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "contraire" or "contredire"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contraire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contredire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,861 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contraire" and "contredire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contredire vs contredis". 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 #395,861 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.