Which to use
“gui” and “gum” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,335
- “gui” frequency rank
- #17,442
- “gum” frequency rank
- 38777
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gui | gum |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plante verte hémiparasite et épiphyte à tiges articulées dichotomiques et à baies globuleuses qui croissent sur les branches de certains arbres, grâce à leur suçoir conique (ou haustorium) et dont les graines collantes sont disséminées par divers oiseaux. | Lampe. |
Where the eye mixes gui and gum
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses gui with gum
A purely visual mix-up. gui (\ɡi\) and gum (\gum\) 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 - i in “gui” becomes m in “gum”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38777, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gui is recorded at frequency rank #21,335, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɡi\. gum is at rank #17,442, tagged as anoun, pronounced \gum\.
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 38777, this pair ranks #252,874 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gui vs gum
Shared letters: gu. Private to "gui": i. Private to "gum": m.
"gui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "gum" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gui" for "gum" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "gui" or "gum" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "gui" and "gum" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "gui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gum" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #252,874 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gui" and "gum" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "glue vs gui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #252,874 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.