Which to use
“API” and “appui” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,115
- “API” frequency rank
- #2,755
- “appui” frequency rank
- 20870
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | API | appui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alphabet phonétique international. | Ce qui sert à soutenir une chose ou une personne pour l’empêcher de tomber, de chanceler, etc. |
Where the eye mixes API and appui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: API vs appui
A purely visual mix-up. API (\a.pi\) and appui (\a.pɥi\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20870, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
API is recorded at frequency rank #18,115, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.pi\. appui is at rank #2,755, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.pɥi\.
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 20870, this pair ranks #366,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of API vs appui
Shared letters: aip. Private to "API": -. Private to "appui": u.
"API" · 3 letters · shape VCV · "appui" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- appui ← appiu · apui · apupi · papui
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "API" and "appui" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "API" or "appui"?
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 "API" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "appui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #366,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "API" and "appui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "API vs aur". 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 #366,052 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.