Which to use
“cousins” and “coussins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,222
- “cousins” frequency rank
- #20,103
- “coussins” frequency rank
- 28325
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cousins | coussins |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de cousin. | Pluriel de coussin. |
Where the eye mixes cousins and coussins
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cousins and coussins
A purely visual mix-up. cousins (\ku.zɛ̃\) and coussins (\ku.sɛ̃\) 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 28325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cousins is recorded at frequency rank #8,222, classified as anoun, pronounced \ku.zɛ̃\. coussins is at rank #20,103, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ku.sɛ̃\.
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 28325, this pair ranks #323,525 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cousins vs coussins
Shared letters: cinosu. Private to "cousins": -. Private to "coussins": -.
"cousins" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "coussins" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cousins" and "coussins" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cousins" or "coussins"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cousins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coussins" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,525 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cousins" and "coussins" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coussinets vs coussins". 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 #323,525 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.