Which to use
“couché” is an adjective and “coûte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,487
- “couché” frequency rank
- #2,915
- “coûte” frequency rank
- 9402
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | couché | coûte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Allongé sur un lit, généralement pour dormir. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de coûter. |
Where the eye mixes couché and coûte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: couché vs coûte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: couché is \ku.ʃe\ while coûte is \kut\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9402, 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\. coûte is at rank #2,915, tagged as averb, pronounced \kut\.
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 9402, this pair ranks #416,792 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of couché vs coûte
Shared letters: co. Private to "couché": hué. Private to "coûte": etû.
"couché" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "coûte" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "couché" and "coûte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "couché" or "coûte"?
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 "couché" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coûte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #416,792 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "couché" and "coûte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coaches vs couché". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #416,792 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.