planètevsplanqueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,492
“planète” frequency rank
#26,828
“planque” frequency rank
28320
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature planète planque
Definition Corps céleste plutôt sphérique plus gros qu’un astéroïde, ne produisant pas de lumière propre, en orbite autour d’une ou plusieurs étoiles. Cachette.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
planète
7 ch
planque

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. planète (\pla.nɛt\) and planque (\plɑ̃k\) 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 28320, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

planète is recorded at frequency rank #1,492, classified as anoun, pronounced \pla.nɛt\. planque is at rank #26,828, tagged as anoun, pronounced \plɑ̃k\.

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 28320, this pair ranks #323,563 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of planète vs planque

Shared letters: aelnp. Private to "planète": . Private to "planque": qu.

"planète" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "planque" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • planquelpanque · palnque · plannque · planqeu · planqque · planuqe · plaqnue · pllanque

Frequency comparison

planète#1,492
planque#26,828

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "planète" and "planque" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pla.nɛt\ versus \plɑ̃k\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "planète" or "planque"?
"planète" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,492 in our French list, against #26,828 for "planque". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering planète vs planque

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 “planète” 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