Which to use
“goût” and “goutte” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,293
- “goût” frequency rank
- #6,398
- “goutte” frequency rank
- 7691
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | goût | goutte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Celui des cinq sens par lequel on discerne les saveurs. | Très petite quantité d’un liquide qui se détache avec une forme sphérique. |
Where the eye mixes goût and goutte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. goût runs 4 letters (CVVC) against goutte's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses goût with goutte
A purely visual mix-up. goût (\ɡu\) and goutte (\ɡut\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7691, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
goût is recorded at frequency rank #1,293, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡu\. goutte is at rank #6,398, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡut\.
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 7691, this pair ranks #422,434 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of goût vs goutte
Shared letters: got. Private to "goût": û. Private to "goutte": eu.
"goût" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "goutte" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- goutte ← ggoutte · gotute · goute · goutet · guotte · ogutte
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "goût" and "goutte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "goût" or "goutte"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "goût" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "goutte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,434 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "goût" and "goutte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "glue vs goût". 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
Confusion rank #422,434 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.