Which to use
“compter” and “coter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,323
- “compter” frequency rank
- #37,252
- “coter” frequency rank
- 38575
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compter | coter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Déterminer (une quantité, un nombre), plus particulièrement par un dénombrement, sinon par un calcul. | Marquer suivant l’ordre des lettres ou des nombres, numéroter. |
Where the eye mixes compter and coter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. compter runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against coter's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: compter vs coter
A purely visual mix-up. compter (\kɔ̃.te\) and coter (\kɔ.te\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compter is recorded at frequency rank #1,323, classified as averb, pronounced \kɔ̃.te\. coter is at rank #37,252, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɔ.te\.
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 38575, this pair ranks #254,331 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of compter vs coter
Shared letters: ceort. Private to "compter": mp. Private to "coter": -.
"compter" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "coter" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "compter" for "coter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "compter" vs "coter" - 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 "compter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,331 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compter" and "coter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "citera vs coter". 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 #254,331 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.