Which to use
“contrer” and “contrôler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,979
- “contrer” frequency rank
- #2,991
- “contrôler” frequency rank
- 11970
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contrer | contrôler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Annoncer que l'on tient contre celui qui a le premier déclaré qu'il jouait, et qu'on compte le punir sévèrement. | Vérifier la conformité, la régularité ou l'exactitude. |
Where the eye mixes contrer and contrôler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. contrer runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against contrôler's 9 (CVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses contrer with contrôler
A purely visual mix-up. contrer (\kɔ̃.tʁe\) and contrôler (\kɔ̃.tʁo.le\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11970, 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\. contrôler is at rank #2,991, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.tʁo.le\.
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 11970, this pair ranks #407,076 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contrer vs contrôler
Shared letters: cenort. Private to "contrer": -. Private to "contrôler": lô.
"contrer" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "contrôler" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contrer ← ccontrer · cnotrer · conntrer · conrter · conterr · contrerr · contrrer · conttrer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contrer" and "contrôler" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "contrer" vs "contrôler" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "contrer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contrôler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #407,076 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contrer" and "contrôler" 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 #407,076 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.