cour

/ˈkʊə(ɹ)/

//ˈkʊə(ɹ)// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cour" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cour” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #41,064 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#41,064
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A three-month unit of television broadcasting, corresponding to one of the four seasons.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cour vs CR
0% similar
cour vs CU
0% similar
cour vs cut
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cour
PropertyValue
Headwordcour
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʊə(ɹ)/
Letters4
Frequency rank#41,064
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cour” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). cour lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cour is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkʊə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #41,064 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for cour, with forms such as "ccour", "coru", and "courr". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CR", "CU", "cut", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Back-formation from cours from Japanese クール (kūru), from French cours. Attestable in English among the anime community from at least 2007. Anime News Network's Lexicon Encyclopedia dictates the original cours to be unchanged in singular form, though that ha… The correct English form is cour, spelled C-O-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A three-month unit of television broadcasting, corresponding to one of the four seasons.
  2. 2
    A portion of a television program aired over the course of one such period, usually comprising around 10 to 14 weekly episodes.

Etymology

Back-formation from cours from Japanese クール (kūru), from French cours. Attestable in English among the anime community from at least 2007. Anime News Network's Lexicon Encyclopedia dictates the original cours to be unchanged in singular form, though that has been reanalyzed as a plural form.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccour,coru,courr,cuor

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cour - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccour1coru2courr1cuor2
Edit distance from "cour"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cour"?
"cour" is spelled C-O-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʊə(ɹ)/.
What does "cour" mean?
As a noun, "cour" means: A three-month unit of television broadcasting, corresponding to one of the four seasons.
What words are commonly confused with "cour"?
"cour" is commonly confused with "CR", "CU", "cut". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cour"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cour" is /ˈkʊə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cour"?
Back-formation from cours from Japanese クール (kūru), from French cours. Attestable in English among the anime community from at least 2007. Anime News Network's Lexicon Encyclopedia dictates the original cours to be unchanged in singular form, thou... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “cour”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈkʊə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “CR” - see the side-by-side comparison. cour vs CR
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list