Which to use
“cock” and “copy” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,235
- “cock” frequency rank
- #43,360
- “copy” frequency rank
- 80595
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cock | copy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Coq, et généralement tout mâle de la famille des gallinacés. | Copie. |
Where the eye mixes cock and copy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. cock (CVCC) and copy (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between cock and copy
A purely visual mix-up. cock (\ˈkɑːk\) and copy (\ˈkɒp.i\) 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 80595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cock is recorded at frequency rank #37,235, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈkɑːk\. copy is at rank #43,360, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈkɒp.i\.
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 80595, this pair ranks #20,575 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cock vs copy
Shared letters: co. Private to "cock": k. Private to "copy": py.
"cock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "copy" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cock" and "copy" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cock" vs "copy" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "copy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,575 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cock" and "copy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copy vs coupa". 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 #20,575 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.