coursevscoursesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“course” and “courses” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,059
“course” frequency rank
#2,568
“courses” frequency rank
3627
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature course courses
Definition Action de courir, mouvement de celui qui court. Pluriel de course.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
course
7 ch
courses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

course and courses form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “course” sits inside “courses” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3627, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

course is recorded at frequency rank #1,059, classified as anoun, pronounced \kuʁs\. courses is at rank #2,568, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kuʁs\.

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 3627, this pair ranks #433,579 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

course#1,059
courses#2,568

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "course" and "courses" be used interchangeably?
No, "course" and "courses" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering course vs courses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “course” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list