Which to use
“corvée” and “coupée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,583
- “corvée” frequency rank
- #9,633
- “coupée” frequency rank
- 31216
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | corvée | coupée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Travail et service gratuit qui était dû par le paysan à son seigneur. | Coupure du pont d’un navire de commerce dont l’arrière est exhaussé pour donner aux cabines plus d’élévation. |
Where the eye mixes corvée and coupée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. corvée (CVCCVV) and coupée (CVVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: corvée vs coupée
A purely visual mix-up. corvée (\kɔʁ.ve\) and coupée (\ku.pe\) 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 31216, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
corvée is recorded at frequency rank #21,583, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔʁ.ve\. coupée is at rank #9,633, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ku.pe\.
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 31216, this pair ranks #305,204 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of corvée vs coupée
Shared letters: ceoé. Private to "corvée": rv. Private to "coupée": pu.
"corvée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "coupée" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "corvée" for "coupée" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "corvée" or "coupée" show up more?
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 "corvée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coupée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #305,204 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "corvée" and "coupée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "copiée vs corvée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #305,204 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.