Which to use
“pi” and “pis” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,215
- “pi” frequency rank
- #3,350
- “pis” frequency rank
- 10565
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pi | pis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | π, Π, seizième lettre et onzième consonne de l’alphabet grec. | Mamelle de bête laitière (vache, brebis, etc.). |
Same sound, different letters: pi vs pis
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 2 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - pi and pis
This is the hard kind. pi and pis are pronounced identically (\pi\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “pi” sits inside “pis”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pi is recorded at frequency rank #7,215, classified as anoun, pronounced \pi\. pis is at rank #3,350, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pi\.
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 10565, this pair ranks #412,496 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pi vs pis
Shared letters: ip. Private to "pi": -. Private to "pis": s.
"pi" · 2 letters · shape CV · "pis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pi" and "pis" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "pi" vs "pis" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "pi" / "pis". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "pi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #412,496 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pi" and "pis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pi vs pio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #412,496 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.