Cémantix in brief
Cémantix is a free daily word game, published on the site certitudes.org, in which you guess a secret French word by closeness of meaning. The game says it is inspired by Semantle, created in English by David Turner, and it also offers an English version, Cemantle.
For every word you submit, Cémantix replies with a temperature: the higher it is, the closer the word is in meaning to the secret word. The 1000 closest words also get a rank in ‰, far more precise than the temperature. You can submit as many words as you like, and a new secret word arrives every day.
Why Cémantix is so addictive
Cémantix is unlike any letter game. You are not deducing a spelling: you explore a field of meaning, word after word, guided by a sense of "hot" and "cold".
- Free exploration: no limit on tries, you go at your own pace.
- Surprises: a word that seemed unrelated turns out to be very close, because it is used in the same sentences.
- The climb: going from an average rank to a very high one feels like closing in.
- Sharing: one word a day, compared among friends or colleagues.
Proximo keeps this mechanic. Synonymo and Motamo, more guided, keep the taste for the right word. All three are French word games.
Comparison: what each SIWA game shares with Cémantix
| SIWA game | In common with Cémantix | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Proximo | Guess a word by meaning, unlimited tries | A rank, a theme as a hint, "Hors liste" beyond |
| Synonymo | Searching a word's field of meaning | Three synonyms, first letter and length given |
| Motamo | Starting from meaning to find a word | Definitions and a chain of five words |
Proximo: the closest to Cémantix
Proximo starts from the same principle: the mystery word is unknown, with no letter and no length. You submit a word and the game replies with its semantic proximity rank, rank 1 being the word closest to the mystery word. Closeness is computed by a word-embedding model: two words are close if they appear in similar contexts.
Three differences matter to a Cémantix player. First, there is no temperature: only the words in the ranking, about a hundred neighbours of the mystery word, get a rank, and the others show "Hors liste", French for "off the list". Second, a daily theme is displayed as a hint, so you never start from scratch. Finally, the plural and feminine forms of a word are grouped and share the same rank. Accents are optional when you type.
Tries are unlimited, but every word that is not the mystery word takes a little off your score. If you are stuck, the joker reveals a word from the ranking, starting with the farthest, for a few points.
Synonymo and Motamo: guided vocabulary
Synonymo explores a word's field of meaning, but within a precise frame. A target word appears with three rows of boxes: each expects a synonym whose first letter and length are given. Where Cémantix rewards exploration, Synonymo rewards precision. Tries are unlimited, and after a wrong guess, the correctly placed letters show in green.
Motamo goes from meaning to word. Five definitions describe five French words that form a chain, each starting with the last letter of the previous one. It is a good complement on days when you want a shorter, more structured game.
If you also play Pédantix, Cémantix's sister game, our guide to games like Pédantix offers a tailored selection. For other games from the Wordle family, see our roundup of games like Wordle.
One game a day, the same for everyone
Each grid changes at midnight, in your local time, and it is the same for everyone that day. The daily leaderboard lets you compare your number of tries, just as people compare their Cémantix results.
Everything is free, in the browser, with nothing to download and no sign-up. A free account keeps your streaks and opens the archives so you can catch up on a missed word. Because every answer is French, Proximo also suits learners of French who want to explore how words relate to one another.