Which to use
“tousser” is a verb and “trousse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,492
- “tousser” frequency rank
- #16,032
- “trousse” frequency rank
- 49524
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tousser | trousse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Avoir un accès de toux. | Faisceau de choses liées ensemble. |
Where the eye mixes tousser and trousse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. tousser (CVVCCVC) and trousse (CCVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: tousser vs trousse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tousser is \tu.se\ while trousse is \tʁus\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tousser is recorded at frequency rank #33,492, classified as averb, pronounced \tu.se\. trousse is at rank #16,032, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tʁus\.
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 49524, this pair ranks #169,927 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tousser vs trousse
Shared letters: eorstu. Private to "tousser": -. Private to "trousse": -.
"tousser" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "trousse" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tousser" for "trousse" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tousser" or "trousse"?
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 "tousser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trousse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #169,927 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tousser" and "trousse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tasser vs tousser". 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 #169,927 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.