Which to use
“coûte” is a verb and “couteau” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,915
- “coûte” frequency rank
- #3,671
- “couteau” frequency rank
- 6586
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coûte | couteau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de coûter. | Outil tranchant qui possède une arête effilée, utilisé par exemple en tant qu’arme ou pour couper la viande. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set coûte and couteau apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coûte is \kut\ while couteau is \ku.to\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coûte is recorded at frequency rank #2,915, classified as averb, pronounced \kut\. couteau is at rank #3,671, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ku.to\.
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 6586, this pair ranks #425,821 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coûte vs couteau
Shared letters: ceot. Private to "coûte": û. Private to "couteau": au.
"coûte" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "couteau" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- couteau ← ccouteau · cotueau · couetau · coutaeu · couteua · coutteau · cuoteau · ocuteau
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coûte" and "couteau" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "coûte" or "couteau"?
Remembering coûte vs couteau
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “coûte”; for a noun, it's “couteau”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “coûte” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable