Which to use
“crème” and “criée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,191
- “crème” frequency rank
- #37,260
- “criée” frequency rank
- 40451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | crème | criée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie la plus grasse du lait, avec laquelle on fait le beurre. | Proclamation pour annoncer la vente des biens en justice. |
Where the eye mixes crème and criée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. crème (CCVCV) and criée (CCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: crème vs criée
A purely visual mix-up. crème (\kʁɛm\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
crème is recorded at frequency rank #3,191, classified as anoun, pronounced \kʁɛm\. 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 40451, this pair ranks #240,400 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of crème vs criée
Shared letters: cer. Private to "crème": mè. Private to "criée": ié.
"crème" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "criée" · 5 letters · shape CCVVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "crème" for "criée" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "crème" or "criée" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "crème" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "criée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #240,400 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "crème" and "criée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calée vs criée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #240,400 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.