coûtentvscoûterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“coûtent” and “coûter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,137
“coûtent” frequency rank
#8,089
“coûter” frequency rank
20226
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature coûtent coûter
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe coûter. Valoir tel ou tel prix d’achat.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set coûtent and coûter apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
coûtent
6 ch
coûter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. coûtent (\kut\) and coûter (\ku.te\) 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 20226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

coûtent is recorded at frequency rank #12,137, classified as averb, pronounced \kut\. coûter is at rank #8,089, tagged as averb, pronounced \ku.te\.

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 20226, this pair ranks #369,352 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of coûtent vs coûter

Shared letters: ceotû. Private to "coûtent": n. Private to "coûter": r.

"coûtent" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "coûter" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Frequency comparison

coûtent#12,137
coûter#8,089

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "coûtent" and "coûter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kut\ versus \ku.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "coûtent" or "coûter"?
"coûter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,089 in our French list, against #12,137 for "coûtent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering coûtent vs coûter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “coûtent” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list