craquevscriqueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,897
“craque” frequency rank
#32,361
“crique” frequency rank
47258
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature craque crique
Definition Mensonge. Petite baie, partie du rivage qui forme dans les terres un enfoncement où de petits bateaux peuvent se mettre à l’abri.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
craque
6 ch
crique

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. craque (\kʁak\) and crique (\kʁik\) 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 a single letter - a in “craque” becomes i in “crique”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47258, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

craque is recorded at frequency rank #14,897, classified as anoun, pronounced \kʁak\. crique is at rank #32,361, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁik\.

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 47258, this pair ranks #188,329 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of craque vs crique

Shared letters: ceqru. Private to "craque": a. Private to "crique": i.

"craque" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV  ·  "crique" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • craquecarque · ccraque · craqeu · craqque · crauqe · crqaue · crraque · rcaque
  • criqueccrique · criqeu · criqque · criuqe · crqiue · crrique · rcique

Frequency comparison

craque#14,897
crique#32,361

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "craque" and "crique" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kʁak\ versus \kʁik\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "craque" or "crique"?
"craque" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,897 in our French list, against #32,361 for "crique". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering craque vs crique

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 “craque” 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