Which to use
“coûter” is a verb and “coûts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,089
- “coûter” frequency rank
- #3,450
- “coûts” frequency rank
- 11539
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coûter | coûts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Valoir tel ou tel prix d’achat. | Pluriel de coût. |
Where the eye mixes coûter and coûts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between coûter and coûts
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coûter is \ku.te\ while coûts is \ku\. 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 11539, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coûter is recorded at frequency rank #8,089, classified as averb, pronounced \ku.te\. 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 11539, this pair ranks #408,783 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coûter vs coûts
Shared letters: cotû. Private to "coûter": er. Private to "coûts": s.
"coûter" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "coûts" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coûter" and "coûts" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "coûter" or "coûts" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "coûter" and "coûts" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "coûter" 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 #408,783 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coûter" and "coûts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "courber vs coûter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #408,783 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.