Which to use
“contre” is a preposition and “courre” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #109
- “contre” frequency rank
- #38,733
- “courre” frequency rank
- 38842
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contre | courre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En opposition à ; dans un choc avec ; à l’encontre de. | Forme ancienne de courir jusqu’au XIIIᵉ siècle. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set contre and courre apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: contre is \kɔ̃tʁ\ while courre is \kuʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38842, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contre is recorded at frequency rank #109, classified as aprep, pronounced \kɔ̃tʁ\. courre is at rank #38,733, tagged as averb, pronounced \kuʁ\.
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 38842, this pair ranks #252,413 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of contre vs courre
Shared letters: ceor. Private to "contre": nt. Private to "courre": u.
"contre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "courre" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contre" and "courre" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "contre" or "courre"?
Remembering contre vs courre
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “contre”; for a verb, it's “courre”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “contre” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable