Which to use
“cons” and “cousu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,243
- “cons” frequency rank
- #30,963
- “cousu” frequency rank
- 34206
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cons | cousu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de con. | Lié par une couture. |
Where the eye mixes cons and cousu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cons with cousu
A purely visual mix-up. cons (\kɔ̃\) and cousu (\ku.zy\) 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 34206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cons is recorded at frequency rank #3,243, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃\. cousu is at rank #30,963, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ku.zy\.
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 34206, this pair ranks #285,427 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cons vs cousu
Shared letters: cos. Private to "cons": n. Private to "cousu": u.
"cons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "cousu" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cons" and "cousu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cons" vs "cousu" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cousu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #285,427 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cons" and "cousu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coupa vs cousu". 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 #285,427 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.