cratèrevscritèresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,496
“cratère” frequency rank
#3,064
“critères” frequency rank
22560
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cratère critères
Definition Vase à deux anses, plus large que profond, d’une grande capacité, contenant du vin et de l’eau mêlés, dont on remplissait les coupes qu’on passait ensuite à chaque convive. Pluriel de critère.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cratère and critères apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
cratère
8 ch
critères

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cratère (\kʁa.tɛʁ\) and critères (\kʁi.tɛʁ\) 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 22560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cratère is recorded at frequency rank #19,496, classified as anoun, pronounced \kʁa.tɛʁ\. critères is at rank #3,064, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁi.tɛʁ\.

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 22560, this pair ranks #357,331 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cratère vs critères

Shared letters: certè. Private to "cratère": a. Private to "critères": is.

"cratère" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "critères" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

cratère#19,496
critères#3,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cratère" and "critères" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kʁa.tɛʁ\ versus \kʁi.tɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cratère" or "critères"?
"critères" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,064 in our French list, against #19,496 for "cratère". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cratère vs critères

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 “cratère” 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