goûtsvsgusWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,458
“goûts” frequency rank
#17,148
“gus” frequency rank
22606
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature goûts gus
Definition Pluriel de goût. Gars ; mec ; quidam.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set goûts and gus apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
goûts
3 ch
gus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. goûts (\ɡu\) and gus (\ɡys\) 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 22606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

goûts is recorded at frequency rank #5,458, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡu\. gus is at rank #17,148, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɡys\.

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 22606, this pair ranks #357,082 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of goûts vs gus

Shared letters: gs. Private to "goûts": otû. Private to "gus": u.

"goûts" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "gus" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

goûts#5,458
gus#17,148

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "goûts" and "gus" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɡu\ versus \ɡys\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "goûts" or "gus"?
"goûts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,458 in our French list, against #17,148 for "gus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering goûts vs gus

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 “goûts” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list