traitevstraqueWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,857
“traite” frequency rank
#15,279
“traque” frequency rank
18136
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature traite traque
Definition Parcours qu’un voyageur fait d’un lieu à un autre sans s’arrêter, sans se reposer. Action de traquer.

Where the eye mixes traite and traque

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
traite
6 ch
traque

Look-alike desk: traite vs traque

A purely visual mix-up. traite (\tʁɛt\) and traque (\tʁak\) 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 18136, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

traite is recorded at frequency rank #2,857, classified as anoun, pronounced \tʁɛt\. traque is at rank #15,279, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tʁak\.

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 18136, this pair ranks #379,822 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of traite vs traque

Shared letters: aert. Private to "traite": i. Private to "traque": qu.

"traite" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "traque" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • traitertaite · tarite · traiet · traitte · tratie · triate · trraite · ttraite
  • traquertaque · tarque · traqeu · traqque · trauqe · trqaue · trraque · ttraque

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "traite" and "traque" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\tʁɛt\ versus \tʁak\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "traite" vs "traque" - which ranks higher?
"traite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,857 in our French list, against #15,279 for "traque". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "traite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "traque" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #379,822 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "traite" and "traque" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trapu vs traque". 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 #379,822 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list