Which to use
“compère” and “coupure” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,532
- “compère” frequency rank
- #9,632
- “coupure” frequency rank
- 40164
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compère | coupure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Parrain d’un enfant, par rapport à la marraine et aux parents de l'enfant. | Séparation ou division faite en tranchant dans un corps continu. |
Where the eye mixes compère and coupure
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. compère (CVCCVCV) and coupure (CVVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses compère with coupure
A purely visual mix-up. compère (\kɔ̃.pɛʁ\) and coupure (\ku.pyʁ\) 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 40164, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compère is recorded at frequency rank #30,532, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pɛʁ\. coupure is at rank #9,632, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ku.pyʁ\.
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 40164, this pair ranks #242,553 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of compère vs coupure
Shared letters: ceopr. Private to "compère": mè. Private to "coupure": u.
"compère" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "coupure" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- coupure ← ccoupure · copuure · couppure · couprue · coupuer · coupurre · couupre · cuopure
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "compère" and "coupure" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "compère" or "coupure"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "compère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coupure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #242,553 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compère" and "coupure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "commère vs compère". 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 #242,553 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.