Which to use
“corvée” and “crevée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,583
- “corvée” frequency rank
- #33,626
- “crevée” frequency rank
- 55209
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | corvée | crevée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Travail et service gratuit qui était dû par le paysan à son seigneur. | Trouée, échancrure, déchirure. |
Where the eye mixes corvée and crevée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. corvée (CVCCVV) and crevée (CCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses corvée with crevée
A purely visual mix-up. corvée (\kɔʁ.ve\) and crevée (\kʁə.ve\) 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 55209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
corvée is recorded at frequency rank #21,583, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁ.ve\. crevée is at rank #33,626, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁə.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 55209, this pair ranks #128,953 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of corvée vs crevée
Shared letters: cervé. Private to "corvée": o. Private to "crevée": -.
"corvée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "crevée" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "corvée" for "crevée" ever safe?
Which is more common, "corvée" or "crevée"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "corvée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crevée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #128,953 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "corvée" and "crevée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Clèves vs crevée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #128,953 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.