Which to use
“core” and “cou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,102
- “core” frequency rank
- #3,063
- “cou” frequency rank
- 19165
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | core | cou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Centre, noyau. | Partie du corps qui joint la tête aux épaules. |
Where the eye mixes core and cou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: core vs cou
A purely visual mix-up. core (\kɔː\) and cou (\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 19165, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
core is recorded at frequency rank #16,102, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔː\. cou is at rank #3,063, 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 19165, this pair ranks #374,639 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of core vs cou
Shared letters: co. Private to "core": er. Private to "cou": u.
"core" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- core ← ccore · coer · corre · croe
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "core" and "cou" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "core" vs "cou" - 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 "core" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #374,639 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "core" and "cou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conde vs core". 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 #374,639 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.