Which to use
“roux” and “row” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,702
- “roux” frequency rank
- #2,498
- “row” frequency rank
- 31200
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | roux | row |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A mixture of fat (usually butter) and flour used to thicken sauces and stews. | A line of objects, often regularly spaced, such as seats in a theatre, vegetable plants in a garden, etc. |
Where the eye mixes roux and row
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: roux vs row
A purely visual mix-up. roux (/ɹuː/) and row (/ˈɹəʊ/) 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 31200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
roux is recorded at frequency rank #28,702, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɹuː/. row is at rank #2,498, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɹəʊ/.
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 31200, this pair ranks #348,146 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of roux vs row
Shared letters: or. Private to "roux": ux. Private to "row": w.
"roux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "row" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- roux ← orux · rouxx · roxu · rroux · ruox
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "roux" and "row" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "roux" or "row"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "roux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "row" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,146 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "roux" and "row" 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 #348,146 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.