cordesvscorvéesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,282
“cordes” frequency rank
#28,897
“corvées” frequency rank
35179
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cordes corvées
Definition Pluriel de corde. Pluriel de corvée.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cordes and corvées apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cordes
7 ch
corvées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cordes (\kɔʁd\) and corvées (\kɔʁ.ve\) 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 35179, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cordes is recorded at frequency rank #6,282, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁd\. corvées is at rank #28,897, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁ.ve\.

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 35179, this pair ranks #278,611 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cordes vs corvées

Shared letters: ceors. Private to "cordes": d. Private to "corvées": .

"cordes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "corvées" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cordesccordes · codres · corddes · cordess · cordse · coreds · corrdes · crodes

Frequency comparison

cordes#6,282
corvées#28,897

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cordes" and "corvées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔʁd\ versus \kɔʁ.ve\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cordes" or "corvées"?
"cordes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,282 in our French list, against #28,897 for "corvées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cordes vs corvées

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 “cordes” 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