corpvscoupConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#16,104
“corp” frequency rank
#226
“coup” frequency rank
16330
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature corp coup
Definition Un des noms de l’ombre (poisson). Impression que fait un corps sur un autre en le frappant.

Where the eye mixes corp and coup

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
corp
4 ch
coup

Why the eye confuses corp with coup

A purely visual mix-up. corp (\kɔʁp\) 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 differ by a single letter - r in “corp” becomes u in “coup”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16330, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

corp is recorded at frequency rank #16,104, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁp\. 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 16330, this pair ranks #388,318 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of corp vs coup

Shared letters: cop. Private to "corp": r. Private to "coup": u.

"corp" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "coup" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • corpccorp · copr · corpp · corrp · ocrp
  • coupccoup · copu · coupp · cuop · ocup

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "corp" for "coup" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\kɔʁp\ versus \ku\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "corp" vs "coup" - which ranks higher?
"coup" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #226 in our French list, against #16,104 for "corp". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "corp" 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 #388,318 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "corp" and "coup" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "corp vs coupa". 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 #388,318 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list