Which to use
“périlleux” and “pouilleux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,668
- “périlleux” frequency rank
- #47,524
- “pouilleux” frequency rank
- 70192
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | périlleux | pouilleux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est dangereux ; où il y a du péril. | Qui a des poux. |
Where the eye mixes périlleux and pouilleux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. périlleux (CVCVCCVVC) and pouilleux (CVVVCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: périlleux vs pouilleux
A purely visual mix-up. périlleux (\pe.ʁi.jø\) and pouilleux (\pu.jø\) 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 70192, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
périlleux is recorded at frequency rank #22,668, classified as anadj, pronounced \pe.ʁi.jø\. pouilleux is at rank #47,524, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pu.jø\.
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 70192, this pair ranks #52,301 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of périlleux vs pouilleux
Shared letters: eilpux. Private to "périlleux": ré. Private to "pouilleux": o.
"périlleux" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "pouilleux" · 9 letters · shape CVVVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- pouilleux ← opuilleux · poiulleux · pouilelux · pouileux · pouilleuxx · pouillexu · pouilluex · poulileux
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "périlleux" for "pouilleux" ever safe?
Which is more common, "périlleux" or "pouilleux"?
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 "périlleux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pouilleux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,301 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "périlleux" and "pouilleux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "périlleuse vs périlleux". 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 #52,301 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.