Which to use
“creux” and “curieux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,945
- “creux” frequency rank
- #2,994
- “curieux” frequency rank
- 9939
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | creux | curieux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui présente une cavité, un trou intérieur. | Qui a le désir d’apprendre, de voir des choses nouvelles, intéressantes, rares, etc. |
Where the eye mixes creux and curieux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. creux runs 5 letters (CCVVC) against curieux's 7 (CVCVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: creux vs curieux
A purely visual mix-up. creux (\kʁø\) and curieux (\ky.ʁjø\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9939, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
creux is recorded at frequency rank #6,945, classified as anadj, pronounced \kʁø\. curieux is at rank #2,994, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ky.ʁjø\.
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 9939, this pair ranks #414,854 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of creux vs curieux
Shared letters: cerux. Private to "creux": -. Private to "curieux": i.
"creux" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "curieux" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "creux" and "curieux" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "creux" or "curieux"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "creux" and "curieux" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "creux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "curieux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #414,854 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "creux" and "curieux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crémeux vs creux". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #414,854 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.