goûtvsgutWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,293
“goût” frequency rank
#45,089
“gut” frequency rank
46382
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature goût gut
Definition Celui des cinq sens par lequel on discerne les saveurs. Rituel chamanique consistant à communiquer avec les esprits.

Where the eye mixes goût and gut

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. goût runs 4 letters (CVVC) against gut's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
goût
3 ch
gut

Why the eye confuses goût with gut

A purely visual mix-up. goût (\ɡu\) and gut (\ɡyt\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46382, 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\. gut is at rank #45,089, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡyt\.

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 46382, this pair ranks #195,411 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of goût vs gut

Shared letters: gt. Private to "goût": oû. Private to "gut": u.

"goût" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "gut" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "goût" and "gut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɡu\ versus \ɡyt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "goût" or "gut"?
"goût" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,293 in our French list, against #45,089 for "gut". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "goût" and "gut" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "goût" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #195,411 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "goût" and "gut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "glue vs gut". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #195,411 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list