coûteuse vs coûteuses, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#16,331
“coûteuse” frequency rank: #23,156
“coûteuses” frequency rank: 39487
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	coûteuse	coûteuses
Definition	Féminin singulier de coûteux.	Féminin pluriel de coûteux.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set coûteuse and coûteuses apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

coûteuse

9 ch

coûteuses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. coûteuse and coûteuses are pronounced identically (\ku.tøz\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “coûteuse” sits inside “coûteuses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

coûteuse is recorded at frequency rank #16,331, classified as anadj, pronounced \ku.tøz\. coûteuses is at rank #23,156, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ku.tøz\.

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 39487, this pair ranks #247,572 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of coûteuse vs coûteuses

Shared letters: ceostuû. Private to "coûteuse": -. Private to "coûteuses": -.

"coûteuse" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVVCV · "coûteuses" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

coûteuse#16,331

coûteuses#23,156

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "coûteuse" and "coûteuses" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\ku.tøz\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Which is more common, "coûteuse" or "coûteuses"?

"coûteuse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,331 in our French list, against #23,156 for "coûteuses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering coûteuse vs coûteuses

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 “coûteuse” entry
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