Which to use
“jeu” and “jo” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #267
- “jeu” frequency rank
- #3,932
- “jo” frequency rank
- 4199
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | jeu | jo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Divertissement, activité avec des règles, pouvant être exercé seul, ou en groupe, pour s’amuser. | (Nivernais) Coq. |
Where the eye mixes jeu and jo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses jeu with jo
A purely visual mix-up. jeu (\ʒø\) and jo (\ʒɔ\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4199, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
jeu is recorded at frequency rank #267, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʒø\. jo is at rank #3,932, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʒɔ\.
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 4199, this pair ranks #432,215 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of jeu vs jo
Shared letters: j. Private to "jeu": eu. Private to "jo": o.
"jeu" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "jo" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "jeu" for "jo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "jeu" vs "jo" - which ranks higher?
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 "jeu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "jo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #432,215 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "jeu" and "jo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "jo vs jor". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #432,215 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.