Which to use
“côtes” and “cotons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,395
- “côtes” frequency rank
- #46,680
- “cotons” frequency rank
- 50075
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | côtes | cotons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de côte. | Pluriel de coton. |
Where the eye mixes côtes and cotons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: côtes vs cotons
A purely visual mix-up. côtes (\kot\) and cotons (\kɔ.tɔ̃\) 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 50075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
côtes is recorded at frequency rank #3,395, classified as anoun, pronounced \kot\. cotons is at rank #46,680, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.tɔ̃\.
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 50075, this pair ranks #165,516 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of côtes vs cotons
Shared letters: cst. Private to "côtes": eô. Private to "cotons": no.
"côtes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "cotons" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cotons ← ccotons · cootns · cotnos · cotonns · cotonss · cotosn · cottons · ctoons
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "côtes" for "cotons" ever safe?
Which is more common, "côtes" or "cotons"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "côtes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cotons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #165,516 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "côtes" and "cotons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coon vs cotons". 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 #165,516 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.