Which to use
“cœur” is a noun and “coeur” is a typographic variant - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #552
- “cœur” frequency rank
- #841
- “coeur” frequency rank
- 1393
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cœur | coeur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Organe musculaire, creux et pulsatile assurant la circulation sanguine dans le corps humain ou animal. | Variante typographique de cœur. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cœur and coeur apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cœur and coeur form a confusable pair in the French 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 1393, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cœur is recorded at frequency rank #552, classified as anoun, pronounced \kœʁ\. coeur is at rank #841, tagged as atypographic variant, pronounced \kœʁ\.
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 1393, this pair ranks #438,140 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cœur" and "coeur" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cœur vs coeur
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “cœur”; for a typographic variant, it's “coeur”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cœur” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable