Which to use
“aïeux” is a noun and “aux” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,331
- “aïeux” frequency rank
- #58
- “aux” frequency rank
- 27389
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aïeux | aux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de aïeul : tous ceux de qui l’on descend. | Contraction obligatoire de la préposition à et de l'article défini les. |
Where the eye mixes aïeux and aux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. aïeux runs 5 letters (VCVVC) against aux's 3 (VVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: aïeux vs aux
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: aïeux is \a.jø\ while aux is \o\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aïeux is recorded at frequency rank #27,331, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.jø\. aux is at rank #58, tagged as anarticle, pronounced \o\.
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 27389, this pair ranks #329,308 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aïeux vs aux
Shared letters: aux. Private to "aïeux": eï. Private to "aux": -.
"aïeux" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "aux" · 3 letters · shape VVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "aïeux" and "aux" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "aïeux" vs "aux" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "aïeux" and "aux" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "aïeux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #329,308 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aïeux" and "aux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "AIEA vs aïeux". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #329,308 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.