Which to use
“contes” and “coûts” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,803
- “contes” frequency rank
- #3,450
- “coûts” frequency rank
- 10253
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contes | coûts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de conte. | Pluriel de coût. |
Where the eye mixes contes and coûts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between contes and coûts
A purely visual mix-up. contes (\kɔ̃t\) 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 10253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contes is recorded at frequency rank #6,803, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃t\. 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 10253, this pair ranks #413,681 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contes vs coûts
Shared letters: cost. Private to "contes": en. Private to "coûts": û.
"contes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "coûts" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contes ← ccontes · cnotes · conets · conntes · contess · contse · conttes · cotnes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "contes" for "coûts" ever safe?
Frequency check: "contes" vs "coûts" - which ranks higher?
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 "contes" 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 #413,681 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contes" and "coûts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "congres vs contes". 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 #413,681 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.