Which to use
“co” and “cou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,856
- “co” frequency rank
- #3,063
- “cou” frequency rank
- 4919
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | co | cou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Connexion. | Partie du corps qui joint la tête aux épaules. |
Where the eye mixes co and cou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: co vs cou
A purely visual mix-up. co (\ko\) and cou (\ku\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “co” sits inside “cou”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4919, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
co is recorded at frequency rank #1,856, classified as anoun, pronounced \ko\. cou is at rank #3,063, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ku\.
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 4919, this pair ranks #430,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of co vs cou
Shared letters: co. Private to "co": -. Private to "cou": u.
"co" · 2 letters · shape CV · "cou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "co" and "cou" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "co" vs "cou" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "co" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #430,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "co" and "cou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cou vs coupa". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #430,354 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.