Which to use
“ordinateur” is an adjective and “ordonnateur” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,631
- “ordinateur” frequency rank
- #49,834
- “ordonnateur” frequency rank
- 52465
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ordinateur | ordonnateur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui ordonne. | Celui qui ordonne, qui dispose. |
Where the eye mixes ordinateur and ordonnateur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ordinateur runs 10 letters (VCCVCVCVVC) against ordonnateur's 11 (VCCVCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ordinateur vs ordonnateur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ordinateur is \ɔʁ.di.na.tœʁ\ while ordonnateur is \ɔʁ.dɔ.na.tœʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52465, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ordinateur is recorded at frequency rank #2,631, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɔʁ.di.na.tœʁ\. ordonnateur is at rank #49,834, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɔʁ.dɔ.na.tœʁ\.
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 52465, this pair ranks #147,539 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ordinateur vs ordonnateur
Shared letters: adenortu. Private to "ordinateur": i. Private to "ordonnateur": -.
"ordinateur" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVC · "ordonnateur" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ordinateur ← odrinateur · orddinateur · ordianteur · ordinaetur · ordinateru · ordinateurr · ordinatteur · ordinatuer
- ordonnateur ← odronnateur · orddonnateur · ordnonateur · ordonanteur · ordonateur · ordonnaetur · ordonnateru · ordonnateurr
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ordinateur" for "ordonnateur" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "ordinateur" or "ordonnateur" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ordinateur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ordonnateur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,539 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ordinateur" and "ordonnateur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ordinateur vs ordinateurs". 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 #147,539 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.