Which to use
“pointe” is a noun and “pointed” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,967
- “pointe” frequency rank
- #3,250
- “pointed” frequency rank
- 31217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pointe | pointed |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The tip of the toe; a ballet position executed with the tip of the toe. | simple past and past participle of point |
Where the eye mixes pointe and pointed
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pointe with pointed
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pointe is /pwæ̃t/ while pointed is /ˈpɔɪntɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “pointe” sits inside “pointed”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pointe is recorded at frequency rank #27,967, classified as anoun, pronounced /pwæ̃t/. pointed is at rank #3,250, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈpɔɪntɪd/.
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 31217, this pair ranks #348,007 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pointe vs pointed
Shared letters: einopt. Private to "pointe": -. Private to "pointed": d.
"pointe" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "pointed" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pointe" for "pointed" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pointe" or "pointed"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pointe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pointed" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,007 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pointe" and "pointed" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plinth vs pointe". 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 #348,007 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.