corvéevscriéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,583
“corvée” frequency rank
#37,260
“criée” frequency rank
58843
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature corvée criée
Definition Travail et service gratuit qui était dû par le paysan à son seigneur. Proclamation pour annoncer la vente des biens en justice.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
corvée
5 ch
criée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. corvée (\kɔʁ.ve\) and criée (\kʁi.je\) 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 58843, 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\. criée is at rank #37,260, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁi.je\.

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 58843, this pair ranks #106,563 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of corvée vs criée

Shared letters: ceré. Private to "corvée": ov. Private to "criée": i.

"corvée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "criée" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV

Frequency comparison

corvée#21,583
criée#37,260

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "corvée" and "criée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔʁ.ve\ versus \kʁi.je\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "corvée" or "criée"?
"corvée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,583 in our French list, against #37,260 for "criée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering corvée vs criée

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 “corvée” 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