contesvscoyotesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“contes” and “coyotes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,803
“contes” frequency rank
#30,964
“coyotes” frequency rank
37767
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature contes coyotes
Definition Pluriel de conte. Pluriel de coyote.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contes and coyotes apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
contes
7 ch
coyotes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. contes (\kɔ̃t\) and coyotes (\kɔ.jɔt\) 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 37767, 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\. coyotes is at rank #30,964, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.jɔt\.

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 37767, this pair ranks #260,071 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of contes vs coyotes

Shared letters: ceost. Private to "contes": n. Private to "coyotes": y.

"contes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "coyotes" · 7 letters · shape CVVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • contesccontes · cnotes · conets · conntes · contess · contse · conttes · cotnes
  • coyotesccoyotes · cooytes · coyoets · coyotess · coyotse · coyottes · coytoes · coyyotes

Frequency comparison

contes#6,803
coyotes#30,964

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "contes" and "coyotes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃t\ versus \kɔ.jɔt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "contes" or "coyotes"?
"contes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,803 in our French list, against #30,964 for "coyotes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering contes vs coyotes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contes” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list