Which to use
“seal” and “set” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,746
- “seal” frequency rank
- #6,758
- “set” frequency rank
- 41504
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seal | set |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sceau. | Ensemble, trousse, équipement, assortiment. |
Where the eye mixes seal and set
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between seal and set
A purely visual mix-up. seal (\siːl\) and set (\sɛt\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seal is recorded at frequency rank #34,746, classified as anoun, pronounced \siːl\. set is at rank #6,758, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɛt\.
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 41504, this pair ranks #232,602 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of seal vs set
Shared letters: es. Private to "seal": al. Private to "set": t.
"seal" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "set" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- seal ← esal · sael · seall · sela · sseal
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "seal" for "set" ever safe?
Which is more common, "seal" or "set"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "seal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "set" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #232,602 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seal" and "set" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seal vs Sepp". 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 #232,602 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.