crêpesvscrêtesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,757
“crêpes” frequency rank
#23,503
“crêtes” frequency rank
36260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature crêpes crêtes
Definition Pluriel de crêpe, sorte d’étoffe. Pluriel de crête.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
crêpes
6 ch
crêtes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. crêpes (\kʁɛp\) and crêtes (\kʁɛt\) 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 - p in “crêpes” becomes t in “crêtes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

crêpes is recorded at frequency rank #12,757, classified as anoun, pronounced \kʁɛp\. crêtes is at rank #23,503, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁɛt\.

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 36260, this pair ranks #270,826 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of crêpes vs crêtes

Shared letters: cersê. Private to "crêpes": p. Private to "crêtes": t.

"crêpes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "crêtes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Frequency comparison

crêpes#12,757
crêtes#23,503

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "crêpes" and "crêtes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kʁɛp\ versus \kʁɛt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "crêpes" or "crêtes"?
"crêpes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,757 in our French list, against #23,503 for "crêtes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering crêpes vs crêtes

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 “crêpes” 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