Which to use
“core” and “coup” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,102
- “core” frequency rank
- #226
- “coup” frequency rank
- 16328
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | core | coup |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Centre, noyau. | Impression que fait un corps sur un autre en le frappant. |
Where the eye mixes core and coup
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses core with coup
A purely visual mix-up. core (\kɔː\) and coup (\ku\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16328, 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\. coup is at rank #226, 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 16328, this pair ranks #388,332 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of core vs coup
Shared letters: co. Private to "core": er. Private to "coup": pu.
"core" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "coup" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "core" and "coup" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "core" or "coup"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "core" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coup" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #388,332 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "core" and "coup" 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 #388,332 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.