couchévscouchéeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: couché is a adjective, couchée is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“couché” is an adjective and “couchée” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,487
“couché” frequency rank
#17,398
“couchée” frequency rank
23885
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature couché couchée
Definition Allongé sur un lit, généralement pour dormir. Lieu où on loge la nuit en faisant voyage.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set couché and couchée apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
couché
7 ch
couchée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: couché and couchée carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ku.ʃe\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “couché” sits inside “couchée”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

couché is recorded at frequency rank #6,487, classified as anadj, pronounced \ku.ʃe\. couchée is at rank #17,398, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ku.ʃe\.

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 23885, this pair ranks #349,884 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of couché vs couchée

Shared letters: choué. Private to "couché": -. Private to "couchée": e.

"couché" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "couchée" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVV

Frequency comparison

couché#6,487
couchée#17,398

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "couché" and "couchée" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "couché" is an adjective and "couchée" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "couché" or "couchée"?
"couché" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,487 in our French list, against #17,398 for "couchée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering couché vs couchée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “couché”; for a noun, it's “couchée”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “couché” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list