compvscourWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: comp is a adjective, cour is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“comp” is an adjective and “cour” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,911
“comp” frequency rank
#41,064
“cour” frequency rank
49975
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature comp cour
Definition Clipping of complimentary. 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 comp and cour apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
comp
4 ch
cour

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

comp 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

comp is recorded at frequency rank #8,911, classified as anadj, pronounced /kɒmp/. 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 49975, this pair ranks #178,509 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

comp#8,911
cour#41,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "comp" and "cour" be used interchangeably?
No, "comp" 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 comp vs cour

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “comp”; for a noun, it's “cour”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “comp” 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