course

\kuʁs\

/\kuʁs\/ noun

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

The verdict

“course” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #1,059. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,059
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Action de courir, mouvement de celui qui court.

Corpus desk

Index FR-course · course · French

course · rank #1,059 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,059
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH couple

Nearest frequency peer: couple (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “course”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “course” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

course vs cure
67% similar
course vs cous
67% similar
course vs court
67% similar

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

Key facts for course
PropertyValue
Headwordcourse
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kuʁs\
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,059
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “course” sits in French 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). course lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around course (IPA \kuʁs\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,059 among 8,609 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for course, with forms such as "ccourse", "coruse", and "coures". 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, "cure", "cous", "court", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is course, spelled C-O-U-R-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Action de courir, mouvement de celui qui court.
  2. 2
    Toute épreuve sportive où la vitesse est en jeu.
  3. 3
    Cours, mouvement apparent des astres.
  4. 4
    Actes d’hostilité que l’on faisait en courant les mers ou en entrant dans le pays ennemi. Note d’usage : On dit maintenant incursion, reconnaissance, pointe, etc.
  5. 5
    En parlant des corsaires, se disait des bâtiments armés en guerre par des particuliers et autorisés par un gouvernement à courir sur les navires marchands ennemis.
  6. 6
    Allées et venues, sorties que l’on fait dans la journée.
  7. 7
    Objet de ces allées et venues d’où achats, emplettes.
  8. 8
    Trajet que fait une voiture, une automobile de place en transportant une ou plusieurs personnes d’un lieu à un autre.
  9. 9
    Trajet parcouru ou à parcourir soit à pied, soit en voiture.
  10. 10
    Marche, progrès rapide d’une personne ou d’une chose.
  11. 11
    Distance comprise entre les deux points extrêmes du trajet parcouru par la tige d’un piston, par un tiroir de pompe, dans leur mouvement.
  12. 12
    Course de taureaux.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how course appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Et dès que je l’avais reconnue, je prenais ma course pour aller l’embrasser.
  2. […], il n’est de bruit qu’un ver qui taraude incessamment les boiseries et dans le plafond, la course d’un rongeur.

This word in other languages

run(English)carrera(Español)Lauf(Deutsch)correr(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccourse
  • coruse
  • coures
  • courrse
  • coursse
  • cousre
  • cuorse
  • ocurse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccourse1coruse2coures2courrse1coursse1cousre2cuorse2ocurse2
Edit distance from "course"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "course"?
"course" is spelled C-O-U-R-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kuʁs\.
What does "course" mean?
As a noun, "course" means: Action de courir, mouvement de celui qui court.
What words are commonly confused with "course"?
"course" is commonly confused with "cure", "cous", "court". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "course"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "course" is \kuʁs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "course" come from?
"course" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "course", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

couple#1,058change#1,055allait#1,053mètres#1,068

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

fonds8 variantsvillage8 variantsvisite8 variantsvoulez8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "course". Here's where to go from here.

  • "course" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "cure". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,059 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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