ouivsoustWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: oui is a intj, oust is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“oui” is an intj and “oust” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,386
“oui” frequency rank
#31,281
“oust” frequency rank
75667
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature oui oust
Definition Synonym of yes. To expel; to remove.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set oui and oust apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
oui
4 ch
oust

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: oui is /wiː/ while oust is /aʊst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75667, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

oui is recorded at frequency rank #44,386, classified as anintj, pronounced /wiː/. oust is at rank #31,281, tagged as averb, pronounced /aʊst/.

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 75667, this pair ranks #32,416 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of oui vs oust

Shared letters: ou. Private to "oui": i. Private to "oust": st.

"oui" · 3 letters · shape VVV  ·  "oust" · 4 letters · shape VVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • oustosut · ousst · oustt · outs · uost

Frequency comparison

oui#44,386
oust#31,281

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "oui" and "oust" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "oui" is an intj and "oust" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "oui" or "oust"?
"oust" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,281 in our English list, against #44,386 for "oui". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering oui vs oust

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an intj, it's “oui”; for a verb, it's “oust”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “oui” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list