controlevscontrôlezWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“controle” and “contrôlez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,340
“controle” frequency rank
#38,728
“contrôlez” frequency rank
54068
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature controle contrôlez
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de controlar. Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de contrôler.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set controle and contrôlez apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
controle
9 ch
contrôlez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. controle (\konˈtɾo.le\) and contrôlez (\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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

controle is recorded at frequency rank #15,340, classified as averb, pronounced \konˈtɾo.le\. contrôlez is at rank #38,728, 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 54068, this pair ranks #136,519 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of controle vs contrôlez

Shared letters: celnort. Private to "controle": -. Private to "contrôlez": .

"controle" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCVCV  ·  "contrôlez" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • controleccontrole · cnotrole · conntrole · conrtole · contorle · contrloe · controel · controlle

Frequency comparison

controle#15,340
contrôlez#38,728

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "controle" and "contrôlez" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\konˈtɾo.le\ versus \kɔ̃.tʁo.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "controle" or "contrôlez"?
"controle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,340 in our French list, against #38,728 for "contrôlez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering controle vs contrôlez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “controle” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list