Which to use
“cough” is a verb and “cour” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,668
- “cough” frequency rank
- #41,064
- “cour” frequency rank
- 48732
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cough | cour |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sometimes followed by up: to force (something) out of the lungs or throat by pushing air from the lungs through the glottis (causing a short, explosive sound), and out through the mouth. | 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 cough and cour apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cough 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 48732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cough is recorded at frequency rank #7,668, classified as averb, pronounced /kɒf/. 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 48732, this pair ranks #190,275 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cough" and "cour" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cough vs cour
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “cough”; for a noun, it's “cour”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cough” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable