Which to use
“charges” and “courges” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,465
- “charges” frequency rank
- #49,583
- “courges” frequency rank
- 52048
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | charges | courges |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de charge. | Pluriel de courge. |
Where the eye mixes charges and courges
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. charges (CCVCCVC) and courges (CVVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses charges with courges
A purely visual mix-up. charges (\ʃaʁʒ\) and courges (\kuʁʒ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52048, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
charges is recorded at frequency rank #2,465, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃaʁʒ\. courges is at rank #49,583, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kuʁʒ\.
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 52048, this pair ranks #150,552 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of charges vs courges
Shared letters: cegrs. Private to "charges": ah. Private to "courges": ou.
"charges" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "courges" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "charges" for "courges" ever safe?
Frequency check: "charges" vs "courges" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "charges" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "courges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,552 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "charges" and "courges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "courais vs courges". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #150,552 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.