crèchesvscrêpesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,686
“crèches” frequency rank
#12,757
“crêpes” frequency rank
33443
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature crèches crêpes
Definition Pluriel de crèche. Pluriel de crêpe, sorte d’étoffe.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
crèches
6 ch
crêpes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. crèches (\kʁɛʃ\) and crêpes (\kʁɛp\) 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 33443, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

crèches is recorded at frequency rank #20,686, classified as anoun, pronounced \kʁɛʃ\. crêpes is at rank #12,757, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁɛp\.

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 33443, this pair ranks #290,612 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of crèches vs crêpes

Shared letters: cers. Private to "crèches": . Private to "crêpes": .

"crèches" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "crêpes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Frequency comparison

crèches#20,686
crêpes#12,757

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "crèches" and "crêpes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kʁɛʃ\ versus \kʁɛp\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "crèches" or "crêpes"?
"crêpes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,757 in our French list, against #20,686 for "crèches". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering crèches vs crêpes

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 “crèches” 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