Which to use
“coûte” is a verb and “cure” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,915
- “coûte” frequency rank
- #7,048
- “cure” frequency rank
- 9963
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coûte | cure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de coûter. | Soin, souci. — En ce sens, il est surtout usité dans l’expression : n’avoir cure. |
Where the eye mixes coûte and cure
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: coûte vs cure
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coûte is \kut\ while cure is \kyʁ\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9963, 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\. cure is at rank #7,048, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kyʁ\.
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 9963, this pair ranks #414,762 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coûte vs cure
Shared letters: ce. Private to "coûte": otû. Private to "cure": ru.
"coûte" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "cure" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cure ← ccure · cuer · curre · ucre
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "coûte" for "cure" ever safe?
Frequency check: "coûte" vs "cure" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "cure" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #414,762 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coûte" and "cure" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "curage vs cure". 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 #414,762 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.