joyauxvsjoyeuxWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: joyaux is a noun, joyeux is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“joyaux” is a noun and “joyeux” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,910
“joyaux” frequency rank
#3,621
“joyeux” frequency rank
26531
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature joyaux joyeux
Definition Pluriel de joyau. Qui a de la joie ; qui est rempli de joie.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
joyaux
6 ch
joyeux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: joyaux is \ʒwa.jo\ while joyeux is \ʒwa.jø\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “joyaux” becomes e in “joyeux”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

joyaux is recorded at frequency rank #22,910, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʒwa.jo\. joyeux is at rank #3,621, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʒwa.jø\.

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 26531, this pair ranks #334,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of joyaux vs joyeux

Shared letters: jouxy. Private to "joyaux": a. Private to "joyeux": e.

"joyaux" · 6 letters · shape CVVVVC  ·  "joyeux" · 6 letters · shape CVVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • joyauxjjoyaux · joayux · joyauxx · joyaxu · joyuax · joyyaux · jyoaux · ojyaux
  • joyeuxjjoyeux · joeyux · joyeuxx · joyexu · joyuex · joyyeux · jyoeux · ojyeux

Frequency comparison

joyaux#22,910
joyeux#3,621

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "joyaux" and "joyeux" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "joyaux" is a noun and "joyeux" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "joyaux" or "joyeux"?
"joyeux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,621 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 joyaux vs joyeux

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “joyaux”; for an adjective, it's “joyeux”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “joyaux” 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