Which to use
“corps” and “cos” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,517
- “corps” frequency rank
- #6,553
- “cos” frequency rank
- 11070
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | corps | cos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A battlefield formation composed of two or more divisions. | Synonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce. |
Where the eye mixes corps and cos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between corps and cos
A purely visual mix-up. corps (/kɔː/) and cos (/kɑs/) 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 11070, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
corps is recorded at frequency rank #4,517, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɔː/. cos is at rank #6,553, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɑs/.
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 11070, this pair ranks #489,042 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of corps vs cos
Shared letters: cos. Private to "corps": pr. Private to "cos": -.
"corps" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- corps ← ccorps · coprs · corpps · corpss · corrps · corsp · ocrps
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "corps" and "cos" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "corps" or "cos"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "corps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #489,042 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "corps" and "cos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CGT vs cos". 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 #489,042 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.