Which to use
“boues” and “boxes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,785
- “boues” frequency rank
- #41,683
- “boxes” frequency rank
- 65468
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | boues | boxes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de boue. | Pluriel de boxe. |
Where the eye mixes boues and boxes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. boues (CVVVC) and boxes (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: boues vs boxes
A purely visual mix-up. boues (\bu\) and boxes (\bɔks\) 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 a single letter - u in “boues” becomes x in “boxes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65468, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
boues is recorded at frequency rank #23,785, classified as anoun, pronounced \bu\. boxes is at rank #41,683, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bɔks\.
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 65468, this pair ranks #72,203 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of boues vs boxes
Shared letters: beos. Private to "boues": u. Private to "boxes": x.
"boues" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "boxes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "boues" for "boxes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "boues" vs "boxes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "boues" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "boxes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,203 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "boues" and "boxes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bordés vs boxes". 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 #72,203 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.