Which to use
“contrat” is a noun and “control” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #919
- “contrat” frequency rank
- #13,145
- “control” frequency rank
- 14064
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contrat | control |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Convention (même non écrite) entre deux ou plusieurs personnes, plus précisément entre un ou plusieurs créanciers et un ou plusieurs débiteurs, ayant pour effet de créer entre elles une obligation (obligation conventionnelle). | Contrôler (diriger, dominer d’une façon précise). |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contrat and control apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
contrat and control form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14064, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contrat is recorded at frequency rank #919, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.tʁa\. control is at rank #13,145, tagged as averb, pronounced \kən.ˈtɹoʊl\.
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 14064, this pair ranks #398,339 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contrat" and "control" be used interchangeably?
Remembering contrat vs control
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “contrat”; for a verb, it's “control”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contrat” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable