doux

\du\

/\du\/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“doux” has 5 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #2,316. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,316
frequency rank, French
5,307
“D” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Agréable au toucher.

Corpus desk

Index FR-doux · doux · French

doux · rank #2,316 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,316
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,307
  • PHOTO-FINISH dirais

Nearest frequency peer: dirais (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “doux”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “doux” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

doux vs du
50% similar
doux vs dur
50% similar
doux vs duc
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for doux
PropertyValue
Headworddoux
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\du\
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,316
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “doux” se place dans la fréquence du français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).douxse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « dirais » (#2,315), « enceinte » (#2,317), « devons » (#2,314). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around doux (IPA \du\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,316 among 5,307 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for doux, with forms such as "ddoux", "douxx", and "doxu". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "du", "dur", "duc", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is doux, spelled D-O-U-X.

Definition

  1. 1
    Agréable au toucher.
  2. 2
    D’une saveur peu prononcée, ni acide, ni amer, ni piquante. Se dit aussi d’une saveur crémeuse et à la texture soyeuse.
  3. 3
    Agréable à entendre, ni heurté, ni fort.
  4. 4
    Pour une eau, à teneur faible en minéraux, en particulier le sel.
  5. 5
    Sucré, en évoquant une nourriture, ou une boisson.
  6. 6
    Apportant du réconfort, du bien-être.
  7. 7
    Qui n’a rien de fatigant.
  8. 8
    Qualifie une consonne sonore, qui n’est pas sourde.
  9. 9
    D’un caractère affable et conciliant.
  10. 10
    Peu pénible, peu difficile à supporter, à endurer, à observer, qui n’est pas imposé ou infligé avec trop de rigueur.
  11. 11
    Qui est de température tiède.
  12. 12
    Qui se plie aisément sans se casser.
  13. 13
    Qualifie une eau dont la teneur en ions calcium et magnésium reste en dessous d’un certain seuil, lequel peut varier selon les normes en vigueur dans chaque pays.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how doux appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Mince, brune, dure de tout le corps, elle représentait le type parfait de la race métisse, la chola, avec ses cheveux noirs lisses, sa peau fine et douce.
  2. Puisque vous êtes sensible, je vous conseille cette sauce plus douce.

Synonyms

soyeuxmodéréagréablecalmesuaveliquoreuxmoelleuxagréablelégersonore

Antonyms

âpredurrêcherugueuxâcreaigreamerfortfortirritantsaléesaumâtresecdurrudefortfortsourdrudecruelfaroucheviolent

This word in other languages

soft(English)suave(Español)weich(Deutsch)macio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddoux
  • douxx
  • doxu
  • duox
  • odux

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of doux - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddoux1douxx1doxu2duox2odux2
Edit distance from "doux"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "doux"?
"doux" is spelled D-O-U-X. The IPA pronunciation is \du\.
What does "doux" mean?
As an adjective, "doux" means: Agréable au toucher.
What words are commonly confused with "doux"?
"doux" is commonly confused with "du", "dur", "duc". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "doux"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "doux" is \du\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "doux" come from?
"doux" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "doux", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fans#2,318bain#2,309vélo#2,304pote#2,294

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Lille5 variantsquasi5 variantsmini5 variantstort5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "doux". Here's where to go from here.

  • "doux" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "du". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,316 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list