Which to use
“KGB” is a name and “kou” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,076
- “KGB” frequency rank
- #47,413
- “kou” frequency rank
- 73489
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | KGB | kou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Principal service de renseignement de l’Union soviétique post-stalinienne, entre 1954 et 1991. | Tambour chinois. |
Where the eye mixes KGB and kou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses KGB with kou
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: KGB is \ka.ʒe.be\ while kou is \ku\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73489, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
KGB is recorded at frequency rank #26,076, classified as aname, pronounced \ka.ʒe.be\. kou is at rank #47,413, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ku\.
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 73489, this pair ranks #40,303 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of KGB vs kou
Shared letters: k. Private to "KGB": bg. Private to "kou": ou.
"KGB" · 3 letters · shape CCC · "kou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "KGB" and "kou" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "KGB" vs "kou" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "KGB" and "kou" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "KGB" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,303 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "KGB" and "kou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kou vs ky". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #40,303 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.