Which to use
“cod” and “coq” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,379
- “cod” frequency rank
- #8,980
- “coq” frequency rank
- 26359
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cod | coq |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Morue (poisson), cabillaud. | 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 cod and coq
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cod vs coq
A purely visual mix-up. cod (\kɒd\) and coq (\kɔk\) 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 a single letter - d in “cod” becomes q in “coq”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cod is recorded at frequency rank #17,379, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɒd\. 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 26359, this pair ranks #335,514 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cod vs coq
Shared letters: co. Private to "cod": d. Private to "coq": q.
"cod" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "coq" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cod" for "coq" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cod" vs "coq" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cod" 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 #335,514 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cod" and "coq" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cod vs conde". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #335,514 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.