Which to use
“ors” and “ost” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,509
- “ors” frequency rank
- #19,617
- “ost” frequency rank
- 52126
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ors | ost |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de or. | ou Armée au Moyen Âge. |
Where the eye mixes ors and ost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ors with ost
A purely visual mix-up. ors (\ɔʁ\) and ost (\ɔst\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ors is recorded at frequency rank #32,509, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɔʁ\. ost is at rank #19,617, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɔst\.
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 52126, this pair ranks #149,981 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ors vs ost
Shared letters: os. Private to "ors": r. Private to "ost": t.
"ors" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ost" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ors" for "ost" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "ors" or "ost" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ors" and "ost" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ors" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #149,981 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ors" and "ost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "och vs ors". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #149,981 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.