Which to use
“rex” and “roux” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,478
- “rex” frequency rank
- #28,702
- “roux” frequency rank
- 37180
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rex | roux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A king, particularly in ancient Rome. | A mixture of fat (usually butter) and flour used to thicken sauces and stews. |
Where the eye mixes rex and roux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: rex vs roux
A purely visual mix-up. rex (/ˈɹɛks/) and roux (/ɹuː/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37180, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
rex is recorded at frequency rank #8,478, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹɛks/. roux is at rank #28,702, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹuː/.
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 37180, this pair ranks #296,731 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rex vs roux
Shared letters: rx. Private to "rex": e. Private to "roux": ou.
"rex" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "roux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- roux ← orux · rouxx · roxu · rroux · ruox
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rex" and "roux" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "rex" vs "roux" - which ranks higher?
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 "rex" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "roux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,731 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "rex" and "roux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "roux vs Rua". 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 #296,731 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.