Which to use
“courtois” is an adjective and “curtis” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,024
- “courtois” frequency rank
- #14,903
- “curtis” frequency rank
- 25927
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | courtois | curtis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Conforme à l’idéal de la chevalerie. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de curtir. |
Where the eye mixes courtois and curtis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. courtois runs 8 letters (CVVCCVVC) against curtis's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses courtois with curtis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: courtois is \kuʁ.twa\ while curtis is \kuɾ.tˈiʃ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 25927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
courtois is recorded at frequency rank #11,024, classified as anadj, pronounced \kuʁ.twa\. curtis is at rank #14,903, tagged as averb, pronounced \kuɾ.tˈiʃ\.
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 25927, this pair ranks #338,074 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of courtois vs curtis
Shared letters: cirstu. Private to "courtois": o. Private to "curtis": -.
"courtois" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVVC · "curtis" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "courtois" and "curtis" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "courtois" vs "curtis" - which ranks higher?
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 "courtois" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "curtis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #338,074 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "courtois" and "curtis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "courais vs curtis". 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 #338,074 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.