Which to use
“cher” is an adjective and “cour” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #682
- “cher” frequency rank
- #669
- “cour” frequency rank
- 1351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cher | cour |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est chéri, tendrement aimé, auquel on tient beaucoup. | Espace découvert qui dépend d’une maison, d’un hôtel, etc., et qui est entouré de murs ou de bâtiments. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cher and cour apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cher and cour form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cher is recorded at frequency rank #682, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʃɛʁ\. cour is at rank #669, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kuʁ\.
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 1351, this pair ranks #438,216 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cher" and "cour" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cher vs cour
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cher”; for a noun, it's “cour”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cher” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable