opvsouiConfusable pair

Quick tell: op is a preposition, oui is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“op” is a preposition and “oui” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,889
“op” frequency rank
#132
“oui” frequency rank
3021
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature op oui
Definition Sur. Mot utilisé pour apporter une réponse affirmative ou marquer l'accord sur une proposition. Il s’emploie aussi au début d’une phrase qui ne répond pas à une question exprimée ou au cours d’une phrase, pour marquer ou accentuer le caractère affirmatif de cette phrase. Il s’emploie dans le discours direct en réponse à une interrogation. Il est alors seul ou joint à des adverbes qui renforcent l’affirmation comme certes, vraiment, etc.

Where the eye mixes op and oui

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
op
3 ch
oui

Visual trap between op and oui

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: op is \ɔp\ while oui is \wi\. 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 (preposition vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

op is recorded at frequency rank #2,889, classified as aprep, pronounced \ɔp\. oui is at rank #132, tagged as anadv, pronounced \wi\.

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 3021, this pair ranks #434,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of op vs oui

Shared letters: o. Private to "op": p. Private to "oui": iu.

"op" · 2 letters · shape VC  ·  "oui" · 3 letters · shape VVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "op" and "oui" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "op" is a preposition and "oui" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "op" or "oui"?
"oui" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #132 in our French list, against #2,889 for "op". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "op" and "oui" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "op" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "oui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #434,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "op" and "oui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "och vs op". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #434,979 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list