Which to use
“Sambre” is a name and “sample” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,343
- “Sambre” frequency rank
- #40,483
- “sample” frequency rank
- 68826
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Sambre | sample |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rivière franco-belge, affluente de la Meuse, de 190 km de long. | Variante de semple. |
Where the eye mixes Sambre and sample
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Sambre with sample
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Sambre is \sɑ̃bʁ\ while sample is \sɑ̃pl\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68826, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Sambre is recorded at frequency rank #28,343, classified as aname, pronounced \sɑ̃bʁ\. sample is at rank #40,483, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɑ̃pl\.
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 68826, this pair ranks #57,532 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Sambre vs sample
Shared letters: aems. Private to "Sambre": br. Private to "sample": lp.
"Sambre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "sample" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Sambre" and "sample" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Sambre" vs "sample" - which ranks higher?
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 "Sambre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sample" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,532 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Sambre" and "sample" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sample vs samples". 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 #57,532 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.