Which to use
“cost” and “count” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,234
- “cost” frequency rank
- #47,263
- “count” frequency rank
- 61497
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cost | count |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Coût. | Compte, action de compter. |
Where the eye mixes cost and count
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cost runs 4 letters (CVCC) against count's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cost and count
A purely visual mix-up. cost (\kɒst\) and count (\kaʊnt\) 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 61497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cost is recorded at frequency rank #14,234, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɒst\. count is at rank #47,263, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kaʊnt\.
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 61497, this pair ranks #91,932 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cost vs count
Shared letters: cot. Private to "cost": s. Private to "count": nu.
"cost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "count" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cost" and "count" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cost" vs "count" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cost" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "count" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #91,932 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cost" and "count" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "count 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 #91,932 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.