Which to use
“abats” and “abois” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,618
- “abats” frequency rank
- #34,382
- “abois” frequency rank
- 74000
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abats | abois |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de abat. | Pluriel d’aboi. |
Where the eye mixes abats and abois
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. abats (VCVCC) and abois (VCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses abats with abois
A purely visual mix-up. abats (\a.ba\) and abois (\a.bwa\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74000, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abats is recorded at frequency rank #39,618, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.ba\. abois is at rank #34,382, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.bwa\.
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 74000, this pair ranks #38,620 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abats vs abois
Shared letters: abs. Private to "abats": t. Private to "abois": io.
"abats" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC · "abois" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "abats" and "abois" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "abats" vs "abois" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abats" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "abois" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,620 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abats" and "abois" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aba vs abats". 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 #38,620 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.