Which to use
“cour” and “cove” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,064
- “cour” frequency rank
- #12,216
- “cove” frequency rank
- 53280
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cour | cove |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A three-month unit of television broadcasting, corresponding to one of the four seasons. | A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cour and cove apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cour and cove 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 53280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cour is recorded at frequency rank #41,064, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkʊə(ɹ)/. cove is at rank #12,216, tagged as anoun, pronounced /koʊv/.
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 53280, this pair ranks #150,250 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cour" and "cove" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cour vs cove
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 “cour” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable