Which to use
“Block” is a name and “broc” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,314
- “Block” frequency rank
- #38,177
- “broc” frequency rank
- 53491
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Block | broc |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom de famille allemand. | Récipient portatif d’une assez grande capacité, communément de bois, garni de cercles de fer ou de cuivre, qui a une anse et un bec évasé et dont on se sert ordinairement pour tirer ou transporter de l’eau ou du vin. |
Where the eye mixes Block and broc
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Block with broc
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Block is \blɔk\ while broc is \bʁo\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Block is recorded at frequency rank #15,314, classified as aname, pronounced \blɔk\. broc is at rank #38,177, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bʁo\.
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 53491, this pair ranks #140,360 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Block vs broc
Shared letters: bco. Private to "Block": kl. Private to "broc": r.
"Block" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "broc" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Block" and "broc" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Block" or "broc"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Block" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "broc" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #140,360 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Block" and "broc" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "broad vs broc". 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 #140,360 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.