Which to use
“adieux” and “aïeux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,092
- “adieux” frequency rank
- #27,331
- “aïeux” frequency rank
- 39423
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | adieux | aïeux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de adieu. | Pluriel de aïeul : tous ceux de qui l’on descend. |
Where the eye mixes adieux and aïeux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. adieux runs 6 letters (VCVVVC) against aïeux's 5 (VCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses adieux with aïeux
A purely visual mix-up. adieux (\a.djø\) and aïeux (\a.jø\) 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 39423, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
adieux is recorded at frequency rank #12,092, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.djø\. aïeux is at rank #27,331, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.jø\.
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 39423, this pair ranks #248,070 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of adieux vs aïeux
Shared letters: aeux. Private to "adieux": di. Private to "aïeux": ï.
"adieux" · 6 letters · shape VCVVVC · "aïeux" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- adieux ← addieux · adeiux · adieuxx · adiexu · adiuex · aideux · daieux
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "adieux" for "aïeux" ever safe?
Frequency check: "adieux" vs "aïeux" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "adieux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aïeux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,070 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "adieux" and "aïeux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "AIEA vs aïeux". 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 #248,070 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.