joyauvsjoyauxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“joyau” and “joyaux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,597
“joyau” frequency rank
#22,910
“joyaux” frequency rank
45507
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature joyau joyaux
Definition Ornement précieux d’or, d’argent, de pierreries, qui sert à la parure, comme les bracelets, les pendants d’oreilles, etc. Pluriel de joyau.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set joyau and joyaux apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
joyau
6 ch
joyaux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. joyau and joyaux are pronounced identically (\ʒwa.jo\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “joyau” sits inside “joyaux”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45507, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

joyau is recorded at frequency rank #22,597, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʒwa.jo\. joyaux is at rank #22,910, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʒwa.jo\.

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 45507, this pair ranks #202,235 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of joyau vs joyaux

Shared letters: ajouy. Private to "joyau": -. Private to "joyaux": x.

"joyau" · 5 letters · shape CVVVV  ·  "joyaux" · 6 letters · shape CVVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • joyaujjoyau · joayu · joyua · joyyau · jyoau · ojyau
  • joyauxjjoyaux · joayux · joyauxx · joyaxu · joyuax · joyyaux · jyoaux · ojyaux

Frequency comparison

joyau#22,597
joyaux#22,910

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "joyau" and "joyaux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ʒwa.jo\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "joyau" or "joyaux"?
"joyau" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,597 in our French list, against #22,910 for "joyaux". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering joyau vs joyaux

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “joyau” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list