Which to use
“courir” and “couvrir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,707
- “courir” frequency rank
- #4,063
- “couvrir” frequency rank
- 6770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | courir | couvrir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se déplacer rapidement, avec impétuosité, par un mouvement alternatif des jambes ou des pattes prenant appui sur le sol, avec une phase de suspension en l’air, sans appui. | Garnir, revêtir, pour protéger ou orner en appliquant, en déposant quelque chose. |
Where the eye mixes courir and couvrir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. courir runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against couvrir's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses courir with couvrir
A purely visual mix-up. courir (\ku.ʁiʁ\) and couvrir (\ku.vʁiʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
courir is recorded at frequency rank #2,707, classified as averb, pronounced \ku.ʁiʁ\. couvrir is at rank #4,063, tagged as averb, pronounced \ku.vʁiʁ\.
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 6770, this pair ranks #425,281 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of courir vs couvrir
Shared letters: cioru. Private to "courir": -. Private to "couvrir": v.
"courir" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "couvrir" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "courir" and "couvrir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "courir" vs "couvrir" - 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 "courir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "couvrir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #425,281 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "courir" and "couvrir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "courais vs courir". 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 #425,281 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.