Which to use
“ko” is a noun and “ky” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,864
- “ko” frequency rank
- #49,758
- “ky” frequency rank
- 59622
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ko | ky |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Configuration cyclique de pions, si fréquente que des règles spécifiques la traitent. | Ce, ce ... -ci. |
Where the eye mixes ko and ky
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between ko and ky
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ko is \ko\ while ky is \ky\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - o in “ko” becomes y in “ky”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59622, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ko is recorded at frequency rank #9,864, classified as anoun, pronounced \ko\. ky is at rank #49,758, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ky\.
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 59622, this pair ranks #102,130 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ko vs ky
Shared letters: k. Private to "ko": o. Private to "ky": y.
"ko" · 2 letters · shape CV · "ky" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ko" and "ky" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ko" vs "ky" - which ranks higher?
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 "ko" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ky" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #102,130 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ko" and "ky" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kgs vs ky". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #102,130 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.