Which to use
“contrer” and “control” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,979
- “contrer” frequency rank
- #13,145
- “control” frequency rank
- 22124
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contrer | control |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Annoncer que l'on tient contre celui qui a le premier déclaré qu'il jouait, et qu'on compte le punir sévèrement. | Contrôler (diriger, dominer d’une façon précise). |
Where the eye mixes contrer and control
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contrer with control
A purely visual mix-up. contrer (\kɔ̃.tʁe\) and control (\kən.ˈtɹoʊl\) 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 22124, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contrer is recorded at frequency rank #8,979, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.tʁe\. 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 22124, this pair ranks #359,717 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contrer vs control
Shared letters: cnort. Private to "contrer": e. Private to "control": l.
"contrer" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "control" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contrer" for "control" ever safe?
Which is more common, "contrer" or "control"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contrer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "control" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #359,717 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contrer" and "control" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "congres vs contrer". 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 #359,717 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.