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 eye mixes coûtent and coûter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. coûtent runs 7 letters (CVVCVCC) against coûter's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses coûtent with coûter
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coûtent" and "coûter" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "coûtent" or "coûter" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "coûtent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coûter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #369,352 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coûtent" and "coûter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "count vs coûtent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #369,352 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.