Which to use
“kou” and “kun” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,413
- “kou” frequency rank
- #28,227
- “kun” frequency rank
- 75640
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | kou | kun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tambour chinois. | Tête. |
Where the eye mixes kou and kun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between kou and kun
A purely visual mix-up. kou (\ku\) and kun (\kùn\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75640, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
kou is recorded at frequency rank #47,413, classified as anoun, pronounced \ku\. kun is at rank #28,227, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kùn\.
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 75640, this pair ranks #33,456 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of kou vs kun
Shared letters: ku. Private to "kou": o. Private to "kun": n.
"kou" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "kun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "kou" and "kun" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "kou" vs "kun" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "kou" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #33,456 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "kou" and "kun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "kou vs ky". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #33,456 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.