corevscorvéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,102
“core” frequency rank
#21,583
“corvée” frequency rank
37685
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature core corvée
Definition Centre, noyau. Travail et service gratuit qui était dû par le paysan à son seigneur.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set core and corvée apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
core
6 ch
corvée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. core (\kɔː\) and corvée (\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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

core is recorded at frequency rank #16,102, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔː\. corvée is at rank #21,583, 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 37685, this pair ranks #260,700 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of core vs corvée

Shared letters: ceor. Private to "core": -. Private to "corvée": .

"core" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "corvée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • coreccore · coer · corre · croe

Frequency comparison

core#16,102
corvée#21,583

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "core" and "corvée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔː\ versus \kɔʁ.ve\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "core" or "corvée"?
"core" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,102 in our French list, against #21,583 for "corvée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering core vs corvée

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 “core” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list