coûtsvscuteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: coûts is a noun, cute is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“coûts” is a noun and “cute” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,450
“coûts” frequency rank
#23,165
“cute” frequency rank
26615
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature coûts cute
Definition Pluriel de coût. Mignon.

Where the eye mixes coûts and cute

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

5 ch
coûts
4 ch
cute

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: coûts is \ku\ while cute is \kjut\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26615, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

coûts is recorded at frequency rank #3,450, classified as anoun, pronounced \ku\. cute is at rank #23,165, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kjut\.

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 26615, this pair ranks #333,881 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of coûts vs cute

Shared letters: ct. Private to "coûts": osû. Private to "cute": eu.

"coûts" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "cute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cuteccute · ctue · cuet · cutte · ucte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "coûts" and "cute" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "coûts" is a noun and "cute" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "coûts" or "cute"?
"coûts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,450 in our French list, against #23,165 for "cute". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "coûts" and "cute". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "coûts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #333,881 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "coûts" and "cute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs cute". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list