coïtvscoûtsConfusable pair

Which to use

“coït” and “coûts” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,723
“coït” frequency rank
#3,450
“coûts” frequency rank
45173
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature coït coûts
Definition Accouplement sexuel. Pluriel de coût.

Where the eye mixes coït and coûts

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
coït
5 ch
coûts

Look-alike desk: coït vs coûts

A purely visual mix-up. coït (\kɔ.it\) and coûts (\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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

coït is recorded at frequency rank #41,723, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.it\. coûts is at rank #3,450, 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 45173, this pair ranks #204,814 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of coït vs coûts

Shared letters: cot. Private to "coït": ï. Private to "coûts": .

"coït" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "coûts" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "coït" and "coûts" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ.it\ versus \ku\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "coït" vs "coûts" - which ranks higher?
"coûts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,450 in our French list, against #41,723 for "coït". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "coït" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "coûts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #204,814 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "coït" and "coûts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coït vs coon". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #204,814 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list