Which to use
“oui” is an adverb and “outil” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #132
- “oui” frequency rank
- #2,943
- “outil” frequency rank
- 3075
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | oui | outil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | Instrument dont les artisans, les jardiniers, etc., se servent pour leur travail. |
Where the eye mixes oui and outil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: oui is \wi\ while outil is \u.ti\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
oui is recorded at frequency rank #132, classified as anadv, pronounced \wi\. outil is at rank #2,943, tagged as anoun, pronounced \u.ti\.
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 3075, this pair ranks #434,843 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of oui vs outil
Shared letters: iou. Private to "oui": -. Private to "outil": lt.
"oui" · 3 letters · shape VVV · "outil" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- outil ← otuil · ouitl · outill · outli · outtil · uotil
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "oui" and "outil" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "oui" or "outil"?
What to do next
You've compared "oui" and "outil". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "oui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "outil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #434,843 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "oui" and "outil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "och vs oui". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.