Which to use
“coûte” is a verb and “coûts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,915
- “coûte” frequency rank
- #3,450
- “coûts” frequency rank
- 6365
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coûte | coûts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de coûter. | Pluriel de coût. |
Where the eye mixes coûte and coûts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: coûte vs coûts
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coûte is \kut\ while coûts is \ku\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “coûte” becomes s in “coûts”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6365, 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\. coûts is at rank #3,450, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ku\.
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 6365, this pair ranks #426,448 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coûte vs coûts
Shared letters: cotû. Private to "coûte": e. Private to "coûts": s.
"coûte" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "coûts" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "coûte" and "coûts" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "coûte" vs "coûts" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "coûte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coûts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,448 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coûte" and "coûts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coupa vs coûts". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #426,448 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.