Which to use
“coup” is a noun and “couru” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #226
- “coup” frequency rank
- #9,459
- “couru” frequency rank
- 9685
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coup | couru |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Impression que fait un corps sur un autre en le frappant. | Fréquenté. |
Where the eye mixes coup and couru
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: coup vs couru
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coup is \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 9685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coup is recorded at frequency rank #226, classified as anoun, pronounced \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 9685, this pair ranks #415,792 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coup vs couru
Shared letters: cou. Private to "coup": p. Private to "couru": r.
"coup" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "couru" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coup" for "couru" ever safe?
Frequency check: "coup" vs "couru" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "coup" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "couru" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,792 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coup" and "couru" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coupa vs couru". 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 #415,792 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.