Which to use
“cœurs” is a noun and “courus” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,946
- “cœurs” frequency rank
- #45,530
- “courus” frequency rank
- 52476
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cœurs | courus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de cœur. | Participe passé masculin pluriel de courir. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cœurs and courus apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cœurs is \kœʁ\ while courus is \ku.ʁy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52476, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cœurs is recorded at frequency rank #6,946, classified as anoun, pronounced \kœʁ\. courus is at rank #45,530, tagged as averb, pronounced \ku.ʁy\.
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 52476, this pair ranks #147,466 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cœurs vs courus
Shared letters: crsu. Private to "cœurs": œ. Private to "courus": o.
"cœurs" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "courus" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- courus ← ccourus · coruus · courrus · coursu · couruss · couurs · cuorus · ocurus
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cœurs" and "courus" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "cœurs" or "courus"?
Remembering cœurs vs courus
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “cœurs”; for a verb, it's “courus”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cœurs” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable