cobravscourWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cobra” and “cour” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,721
“cobra” frequency rank
#41,064
“cour” frequency rank
55785
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cobra cour
Definition Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Naja. A three-month unit of television broadcasting, corresponding to one of the four seasons.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cobra and cour apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
cobra
4 ch
cour

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cobra and cour form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cobra is recorded at frequency rank #14,721, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkəʊbɹə/. cour is at rank #41,064, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkʊə(ɹ)/.

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 55785, this pair ranks #130,965 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

cobra#14,721
cour#41,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cobra" and "cour" be used interchangeably?
No, "cobra" and "cour" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cobra vs cour

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cobra” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list