Which to use
“coûte” is a verb and “croûtes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,915
- “coûte” frequency rank
- #40,702
- “croûtes” frequency rank
- 43617
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coûte | croûtes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de coûter. | Pluriel de croûte. |
Where the eye mixes coûte and croûtes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. coûte runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against croûtes's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses coûte with croûtes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coûte is \kut\ while croûtes is \kʁut\. 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 43617, 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\. croûtes is at rank #40,702, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁut\.
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 43617, this pair ranks #216,690 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of coûte vs croûtes
Shared letters: ceotû. Private to "coûte": -. Private to "croûtes": rs.
"coûte" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "croûtes" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coûte" for "croûtes" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "coûte" or "croûtes" show up more?
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 "coûte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "croûtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #216,690 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coûte" and "croûtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crosses vs croûtes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #216,690 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.