couteau

\ku.to\

/\ku.to\/ noun

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

The verdict

“couteau” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,671 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,671
frequency rank, French
7
letters
8
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Outil tranchant qui possède une arête effilée, utilisé par exemple en tant qu’arme ou pour couper la viande.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

couteau vs coûter
57% similar
couteau vs coûteux
57% similar
couteau vs coûtent
57% similar

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

Key facts for couteau
PropertyValue
Headwordcouteau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku.to\
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,671
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “couteau” 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). couteau 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 French entry for couteau is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ku.to\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,671 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for couteau, with forms such as "ccouteau", "cotueau", and "couetau". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 14 confusable-pair relationships, "coûter", "coûteux", "coûtent", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is couteau, spelled C-O-U-T-E-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Outil tranchant qui possède une arête effilée, utilisé par exemple en tant qu’arme ou pour couper la viande.
  2. 2
    Instrument pour moissonner, désherber, élaguer, greffer ou aérer la terre.
  3. 3
    Instrument pour découper les feuilles d’un livre.
  4. 4
    Lame coupante montée sur un plateau, un arbre ou un cylindre rotatif pour découper, broyer, déchiqueter : → voir broyeur et épareuse.
  5. 5
    Outil emmanché à lame large ou souple non coupante : → voir couteau à peindre et couteau à enduire.
  6. 6
    Mollusque bivalve fouisseur caractérisé par une coquille allongée (super-famille des Solenoidea).
  7. 7
    Dans une balance de précision, prisme pointu qui supporte le fléau.
  8. 8
    Dispositif placé sur le ski, en avant de la fixation pour permettre une traversée sur une neige glacée.
  9. 9
    Séparateur des parties sciées par une scie circulaire : → voir couteau diviseur
  10. 10
    Outil placé perpendiculairement à l’axe d’une pièce pour charioter : → voir couteau à charioter.
  11. 11
    Symbole de la querelle violente.
  12. 12
    , Rayon de miel.
  13. 13
    Meuble représentant l’arme ou l’outil du même nom dans les armoiries. Il est généralement représenté en pal, pointe vers le chef mais il n’y a pas règle stricte et il est préférable de toujours préciser la position et l’orientation. À rapprocher de badelaire, coutelas, cimeterre, épée, kriss, rapière et sabre.

Synonyms

amassettecoupe-chouxcoupe-papieréconomeéplucheurschlasscouteau de merdilleensismanche à couteaupied à couteausolensolénidéshache de guerrelame

This word in other languages

knife(English)cuchillo(Español)Messer(Deutsch)faca(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccouteau,cotueau,couetau,coutaeu,couteua,coutteau,cuoteau,ocuteau

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of couteau - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccouteau1cotueau2couetau2coutaeu2couteua2coutteau1cuoteau2ocuteau2
Edit distance from "couteau"

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "couteau"?
"couteau" is spelled C-O-U-T-E-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is \ku.to\.
What does "couteau" mean?
As a noun, "couteau" means: Outil tranchant qui possède une arête effilée, utilisé par exemple en tant qu’arme ou pour couper la viande.
What words are commonly confused with "couteau"?
"couteau" is commonly confused with "coûter", "coûteux", "coûtent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "couteau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "couteau" is \ku.to\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "couteau" come from?
"couteau" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “couteau”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-U-T-E-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ku.to\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “coûter” - see the side-by-side comparison. couteau vs coûter
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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