Which to use
“coucou” is a noun and “couru” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,440
- “coucou” frequency rank
- #9,459
- “couru” frequency rank
- 14899
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coucou | couru |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom normalisé de 11 genres assez hétérogènes comprenant 56 espèces d'oiseaux de la famille des cuculidés habitant l'Ancien Monde, essentiellement caractérisées par leur parasitisme de couvée, habitude par laquelle elles confient la couvaison et l'élevage des oisillons à d'autres espèces d'oiseaux le plus souvent plus petites qu'elles; l'espèce-type de ce groupe d'oiseaux est le coucou gris (Cuculus canorus) dont le cri a donné son nom au genre. | Fréquenté. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set coucou and couru apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coucou is \ku.ku\ while couru is \ku.ʁy\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14899, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coucou is recorded at frequency rank #5,440, classified as anoun, pronounced \ku.ku\. couru is at rank #9,459, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ku.ʁy\.
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 14899, this pair ranks #394,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coucou vs couru
Shared letters: cou. Private to "coucou": -. Private to "couru": r.
"coucou" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV · "couru" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coucou" and "couru" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "coucou" or "couru"?
Remembering coucou vs couru
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “coucou”; for an adjective, it's “couru”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “coucou” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable