Which to use
“bugs” and “buis” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,320
- “bugs” frequency rank
- #28,864
- “buis” frequency rank
- 44184
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bugs | buis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de bug. | Genre de la famille des Buxacées comprenant l’espèce Buxus sempervirens, arbrisseau sempervirent, dont le bois, jaunâtre et très dur, et surtout celui de sa racine sont d’un grand usage dans la tabletterie. → voir Buxus |
Where the eye mixes bugs and buis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bugs and buis
A purely visual mix-up. bugs (\bœɡ\) and buis (\bɥi\) 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 - g in “bugs” becomes i in “buis”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bugs is recorded at frequency rank #15,320, classified as anoun, pronounced \bœɡ\. buis is at rank #28,864, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bɥi\.
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 44184, this pair ranks #212,394 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bugs vs buis
Shared letters: bsu. Private to "bugs": g. Private to "buis": i.
"bugs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "buis" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bugs" and "buis" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bugs" or "buis"?
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 "bugs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "buis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #212,394 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bugs" and "buis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "buis vs bury". 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 #212,394 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.