Which to use
“cous” is a noun and “cru” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,734
- “cous” frequency rank
- #1,326
- “cru” frequency rank
- 40060
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cous | cru |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pierre à aiguiser utilisée par les faucheurs. | Qui n’est pas cuit. |
Where the eye mixes cous and cru
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cous vs cru
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cous is \kus\ while cru is \kʁy\. 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 40060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cous is recorded at frequency rank #38,734, classified as anoun, pronounced \kus\. cru is at rank #1,326, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kʁy\.
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 40060, this pair ranks #243,362 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cous vs cru
Shared letters: cu. Private to "cous": os. Private to "cru": r.
"cous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "cru" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cous ← ccous · cosu · couss · cuos · ocus
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cous" and "cru" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "cous" or "cru" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cous" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cru" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #243,362 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cous" and "cru" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coupa vs cous". 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 #243,362 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.