Which to use
“cos” and “cue” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,553
- “cos” frequency rank
- #10,351
- “cue” frequency rank
- 16904
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cos | cue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Synonym of romaine lettuce, a long-leaved variety of lettuce. | The name of the Latin script letter Q/q. |
Where the eye mixes cos and cue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cos with cue
A purely visual mix-up. cos (/kɑs/) and cue (/ˈkjuː/) 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 16904, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cos is recorded at frequency rank #6,553, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɑs/. cue is at rank #10,351, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkjuː/.
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 16904, this pair ranks #454,843 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cos vs cue
Shared letters: c. Private to "cos": os. Private to "cue": eu.
"cos" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "cue" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cos" for "cue" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cos" vs "cue" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #454,843 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cos" and "cue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CGT vs cue". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #454,843 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.