Which to use
“torse” and “tours” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,598
- “torse” frequency rank
- #2,105
- “tours” frequency rank
- 12703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | torse | tours |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partie du corps humain qui s’étend depuis le cou jusqu’à la base du ventre. | Pluriel de tour. |
Where the eye mixes torse and tours
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. torse (CVCCV) and tours (CVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses torse with tours
A purely visual mix-up. torse (\tɔʁs\) and tours (\tuʁ\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
torse is recorded at frequency rank #10,598, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɔʁs\. tours is at rank #2,105, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tuʁ\.
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 12703, this pair ranks #404,139 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of torse vs tours
Shared letters: orst. Private to "torse": e. Private to "tours": u.
"torse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "tours" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "torse" and "tours" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "torse" or "tours" show up more?
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 "torse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tours" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #404,139 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "torse" and "tours" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tories vs torse". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #404,139 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.