pigvspoiWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“pig” and “poi” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#43,600
“pig” frequency rank
#40,426
“poi” frequency rank
84026
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pig poi
Definition Sanglier, n’importe quelle espèce appartenant au genre Sus. Plat polynésien de consistance pâteuse à semi-fluide, mélange de plusieurs fruits ou légumes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pig and poi apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
pig
3 ch
poi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pig (\pɪɡ\) and poi (\pɔj\) 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 84026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pig is recorded at frequency rank #43,600, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɪɡ\. poi is at rank #40,426, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔj\.

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 84026, this pair ranks #13,721 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pig vs poi

Shared letters: ip. Private to "pig": g. Private to "poi": o.

"pig" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "poi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

pig#43,600
poi#40,426

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pig" and "poi" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɪɡ\ versus \pɔj\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pig" or "poi"?
"poi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,426 in our French list, against #43,600 for "pig". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pig vs poi

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pig” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list