optvsouiWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#42,502
“opt” frequency rank
#132
“oui” frequency rank
42634
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature opt oui
Definition Opter. 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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set opt and oui apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
opt
3 ch
oui

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

opt and oui form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42634, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

opt is recorded at frequency rank #42,502, classified as averb, pronounced \ɒpt\. 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 42634, this pair ranks #224,133 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

opt#42,502
oui#132

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "opt" and "oui" be used interchangeably?
No, "opt" and "oui" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering opt vs oui

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “opt”; for an adverb, it's “oui”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “opt” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list