Which to use
“dîme” is a noun and “dix” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,076
- “dîme” frequency rank
- #581
- “dix” frequency rank
- 34657
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dîme | dix |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Portion des grains, des vins, des fruits, etc., qui se payait à l’église, ou au seigneur du lieu, et qui en était ordinairement le dixième. | Neuf plus un, adjectif numéral cardinal correspondant au nombre 10. |
Where the eye mixes dîme and dix
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dîme with dix
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dîme is \dim\ while dix is \dis\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34657, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dîme is recorded at frequency rank #34,076, classified as anoun, pronounced \dim\. dix is at rank #581, tagged as anadj, pronounced \dis\.
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 34657, this pair ranks #282,308 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dîme vs dix
Shared letters: d. Private to "dîme": emî. Private to "dix": ix.
"dîme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dix" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dîme" and "dix" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "dîme" or "dix" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dîme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dix" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #282,308 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dîme" and "dix" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dîme vs domi". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #282,308 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.