pouce

\pus\

/\pus\/ noun

The verdict

“pouce” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #5,388 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,388
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Le plus gros et court des doigts de la main, opposable aux autres.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pouce vs pue
60% similar
pouce vs pour
60% similar
pouce vs pure
60% similar

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

Key facts for pouce
PropertyValue
Headwordpouce
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pus\
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,388
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pouce” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pouce lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for pouce is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pus\. Corpus data places it at rank #5,388 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for pouce, with forms such as "opuce", "pocue", and "poucce". 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, "pue", "pour", "pure", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is pouce, spelled P-O-U-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Le plus gros et court des doigts de la main, opposable aux autres.
  2. 2
    Partie d’un vêtement qui couvre exactement ce doigt.
  3. 3
    Doigt que quelques mammifères ont aux mains et même aux pieds, et qui, comme le pouce chez l’être humain, est opposable aux autres doigts.
  4. 4
    Ancienne unité de mesure de longueur (symbole : p). La douzième partie d’un pied.
  5. 5
    Unité de mesure de longueur du système impérial britannique valant 2,54 centimètres ou un douzième d’un pied britannique. Le symbole : ″, in en anglais, po en français. → voir inch
  6. 6
    (un 17 pouces, etc.) Écran dont la diagonale a cette longueur.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: opuce,pocue,poucce,pouec,ppouce,puoce

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pouce - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

opuce2pocue2poucce1pouec2ppouce1puoce2
Edit distance from "pouce"

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 "pouce"?
"pouce" is spelled P-O-U-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pus\.
What does "pouce" mean?
As a noun, "pouce" means: Le plus gros et court des doigts de la main, opposable aux autres.
What words are commonly confused with "pouce"?
"pouce" is commonly confused with "pue", "pour", "pure". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pouce"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pouce" is \pus\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pouce" come from?
"pouce" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “pouce”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is P-O-U-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pus\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “pue” - see the side-by-side comparison. pouce vs pue
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list