Which to use
“ORL” and “ours” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,465
- “ORL” frequency rank
- #4,358
- “ours” frequency rank
- 42823
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ORL | ours |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Médecin spécialiste des affections du nez, de la gorge et des oreilles. | Plantigrade, carnassier ou omnivore, à fourrure épaisse, de la famille des ursidés. |
Where the eye mixes ORL and ours
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ORL runs 3 letters (VCC) against ours's 4 (VVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ORL vs ours
A purely visual mix-up. ORL (\o.ɛ.ʁ‿ɛl\) and ours (\uʁs\) 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 42823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ORL is recorded at frequency rank #38,465, classified as anoun, pronounced \o.ɛ.ʁ‿ɛl\. ours is at rank #4,358, tagged as anoun, pronounced \uʁs\.
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 42823, this pair ranks #222,684 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ORL vs ours
Shared letters: or. Private to "ORL": l. Private to "ours": su.
"ORL" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ours" · 4 letters · shape VVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ours ← orus · ourrs · ourss · ousr · uors
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ORL" for "ours" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "ORL" or "ours" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ORL" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ours" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #222,684 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ORL" and "ours" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "och vs ORL". 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 #222,684 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.