Which to use
“cou” and “cut” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,063
- “cou” frequency rank
- #17,668
- “cut” frequency rank
- 20731
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cou | cut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie du corps qui joint la tête aux épaules. | Pointage permettant de se qualifier. |
Where the eye mixes cou and cut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cou with cut
A purely visual mix-up. cou (\ku\) and cut (\kœt\) 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 20731, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cou is recorded at frequency rank #3,063, classified as anoun, pronounced \ku\. cut is at rank #17,668, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kœt\.
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 20731, this pair ranks #366,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cou vs cut
Shared letters: cu. Private to "cou": o. Private to "cut": t.
"cou" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "cut" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cou" and "cut" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "cou" or "cut" show up more?
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 "cou" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #366,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cou" and "cut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs cut". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #366,773 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.