Which to use
“cra” is an adverb and “cru” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,201
- “cra” frequency rank
- #1,326
- “cru” frequency rank
- 42527
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cra | cru |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | très | Qui n’est pas cuit. |
Where the eye mixes cra and cru
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cra vs cru
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cra is \kʁa\ while cru is \kʁy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “cra” becomes u in “cru”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42527, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cra is recorded at frequency rank #41,201, classified as anadv, pronounced \kʁa\. cru is at rank #1,326, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kʁy\.
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 42527, this pair ranks #224,935 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cra vs cru
Shared letters: cr. Private to "cra": a. Private to "cru": u.
"cra" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "cru" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cra" for "cru" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cra" vs "cru" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cru" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #224,935 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cra" and "cru" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ciro vs cra". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #224,935 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.