Which to use
“coûtera” is a verb and “coûteux” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,437
- “coûtera” frequency rank
- #9,460
- “coûteux” frequency rank
- 23897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | coûtera | coûteux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du futur de coûter. | Qui coûte cher. |
Where the eye mixes coûtera and coûteux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. coûtera (CVVCVCV) and coûteux (CVVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses coûtera with coûteux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coûtera is \ku.tə.ʁa\ while coûteux is \ku.tø\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
coûtera is recorded at frequency rank #14,437, classified as averb, pronounced \ku.tə.ʁa\. coûteux is at rank #9,460, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ku.tø\.
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 23897, this pair ranks #349,805 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of coûtera vs coûteux
Shared letters: ceotû. Private to "coûtera": ar. Private to "coûteux": ux.
"coûtera" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV · "coûteux" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "coûtera" and "coûteux" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "coûtera" or "coûteux"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "coûtera" and "coûteux" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "coûtera" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coûteux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #349,805 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "coûtera" and "coûteux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "courra vs coûtera". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #349,805 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.