Which to use
“cycles” and “cygnes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,302
- “cycles” frequency rank
- #27,031
- “cygnes” frequency rank
- 36333
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cycles | cygnes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de cycle. | Pluriel de cygne. |
Where the eye mixes cycles and cygnes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cycles vs cygnes
A purely visual mix-up. cycles (\sikl\) and cygnes (\siɲ\) 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 36333, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cycles is recorded at frequency rank #9,302, classified as anoun, pronounced \sikl\. cygnes is at rank #27,031, tagged as anoun, pronounced \siɲ\.
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 36333, this pair ranks #270,340 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cycles vs cygnes
Shared letters: cesy. Private to "cycles": l. Private to "cygnes": gn.
"cycles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cygnes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cycles" for "cygnes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cycles" or "cygnes"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cycles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cygnes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #270,340 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cycles" and "cygnes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caunes vs cygnes". 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 #270,340 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.