Which to use
“semis” and “SMS” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,280
- “semis” frequency rank
- #4,713
- “SMS” frequency rank
- 24993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | semis | SMS |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mise en terre des semences ; action de semer. | Court message écrit qu’on peut envoyer de téléphone mobile à téléphone mobile. |
Where the eye mixes semis and SMS
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses semis with SMS
A purely visual mix-up. semis (\sə.mi\) and SMS (\ɛ.s‿ɛ.m‿ɛs\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
semis is recorded at frequency rank #20,280, classified as anoun, pronounced \sə.mi\. SMS is at rank #4,713, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ.s‿ɛ.m‿ɛs\.
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 24993, this pair ranks #343,401 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of semis vs SMS
Shared letters: ms. Private to "semis": ei. Private to "SMS": -.
"semis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "SMS" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- semis ← esmis · seims · semiss · semmis · semsi · smeis · ssemis
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "semis" and "SMS" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "semis" vs "SMS" - 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 "semis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "SMS" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #343,401 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "semis" and "SMS" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "semis vs sémites". 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 #343,401 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.