Which to use
“optez” and “oyez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,954
- “optez” frequency rank
- #39,920
- “oyez” frequency rank
- 78874
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | optez | oyez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe opter. | Deuxième personne de l’indicatif présent du verbe ouïr. |
Where the eye mixes optez and oyez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. optez runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against oyez's 4 (VVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: optez vs oyez
A purely visual mix-up. optez (\ɔp.te\) and oyez (\ɔ.je\) 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 78874, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
optez is recorded at frequency rank #38,954, classified as averb, pronounced \ɔp.te\. oyez is at rank #39,920, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɔ.je\.
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 78874, this pair ranks #24,655 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of optez vs oyez
Shared letters: eoz. Private to "optez": pt. Private to "oyez": y.
"optez" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "oyez" · 4 letters · shape VVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "optez" and "oyez" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "optez" or "oyez" show up more?
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 "optez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "oyez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,655 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "optez" and "oyez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ones vs oyez". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #24,655 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.