Which to use
“cocu” is an adjective and “coq” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,931
- “cocu” frequency rank
- #8,980
- “coq” frequency rank
- 34911
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cocu | coq |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dupé, trompé, victime d’infidélité conjugale. | Genre d’oiseau de l’ordre des galliformes et de la famille des phasianidés, comprenant quatre espèces habitant les forêts humides du sud de l’Asie, de l’Inde jusqu’à l’Indonésie, au dimorphisme sexuel extrêmement prononcé, et dont une espèce, le coq doré (Gallus gallus) est l’ancêtre universel du coq domestique de basse-cour. |
Where the eye mixes cocu and coq
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cocu with coq
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cocu is \kɔ.ky\ while coq is \kɔk\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cocu is recorded at frequency rank #25,931, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ.ky\. coq is at rank #8,980, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔk\.
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 34911, this pair ranks #280,505 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cocu vs coq
Shared letters: co. Private to "cocu": u. Private to "coq": q.
"cocu" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "coq" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cocu ← ccocu · ccou · coccu · couc · occu
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cocu" for "coq" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "cocu" or "coq" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cocu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coq" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #280,505 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cocu" and "coq" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs cocu". 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 #280,505 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.