Which to use
“boys” and “buts” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,933
- “boys” frequency rank
- #1,471
- “buts” frequency rank
- 8404
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | boys | buts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de boy. | Pluriel de but. |
Where the eye mixes boys and buts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. boys (CVVC) and buts (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between boys and buts
A purely visual mix-up. boys (\bɔj\) and buts (\byt\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
boys is recorded at frequency rank #6,933, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɔj\. buts is at rank #1,471, tagged as anoun, pronounced \byt\.
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 8404, this pair ranks #420,145 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of boys vs buts
Shared letters: bs. Private to "boys": oy. Private to "buts": tu.
"boys" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "buts" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "boys" and "buts" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "boys" or "buts"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "boys" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "buts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #420,145 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "boys" and "buts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bold vs boys". 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 #420,145 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.