Which to use
“coauteur” is a noun and “coûteux” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,710
- “coauteur” frequency rank
- #9,460
- “coûteux” frequency rank
- 48170
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coauteur | coûteux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Auteur d’un ouvrage écrit en collaboration. | Qui coûte cher. |
Where the eye mixes coauteur and coûteux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. coauteur runs 8 letters (CVVVCVVC) against coûteux's 7 (CVVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between coauteur and coûteux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coauteur is \kɔ.o.tœʁ\ while coûteux is \ku.tø\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coauteur is recorded at frequency rank #38,710, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.o.tœʁ\. coûteux is at rank #9,460, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ku.tø\.
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 48170, this pair ranks #181,079 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of coauteur vs coûteux
Shared letters: ceotu. Private to "coauteur": ar. Private to "coûteux": xû.
"coauteur" · 8 letters · shape CVVVCVVC · "coûteux" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- coauteur ← caouteur · ccoauteur · coatueur · coauetur · coauteru · coauteurr · coautteur · coautuer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coauteur" and "coûteux" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "coauteur" or "coûteux" show up more?
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 "coauteur" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coûteux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,079 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coauteur" and "coûteux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coadjuteur vs coauteur". 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 #181,079 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.