Which to use
“cols” and “coût” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,096
- “cols” frequency rank
- #1,767
- “coût” frequency rank
- 17863
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cols | coût |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de col. | Ce qu’une chose coûte ; son prix de revient. |
Where the eye mixes cols and coût
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cols vs coût
A purely visual mix-up. cols (\kɔl\) and coût (\ku\) 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 17863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cols is recorded at frequency rank #16,096, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔl\. coût is at rank #1,767, 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 17863, this pair ranks #381,097 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cols vs coût
Shared letters: co. Private to "cols": ls. Private to "coût": tû.
"cols" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "coût" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cols ← ccols · colls · colss · cosl · ocls
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cols" for "coût" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cols" vs "coût" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "cols" and "coût" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cols" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coût" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #381,097 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cols" and "coût" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cols vs coon". 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 #381,097 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.