pilotevsplotsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,490
“pilote” frequency rank
#42,529
“plots” frequency rank
45019
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pilote plots
Definition Personne qui aide le capitaine d’un navire à l’entrée d’un port ou dans les passages difficiles ; celui qui gouverne, qui conduit un bâtiment de mer. Pluriel de plot.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pilote and plots apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
pilote
5 ch
plots

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pilote (\pi.lɔt\) and plots (\plo\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45019, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pilote is recorded at frequency rank #2,490, classified as anoun, pronounced \pi.lɔt\. plots is at rank #42,529, tagged as anoun, pronounced \plo\.

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 45019, this pair ranks #206,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pilote vs plots

Shared letters: lopt. Private to "pilote": ei. Private to "plots": s.

"pilote" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "plots" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • piloteiplote · pillote · piloet · pilotte · piltoe · piolte · pliote · ppilote
  • plotslpots · pllots · plost · plotss · plotts · pltos · polts · pplots

Frequency comparison

pilote#2,490
plots#42,529

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pilote" and "plots" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pi.lɔt\ versus \plo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pilote" or "plots"?
"pilote" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,490 in our French list, against #42,529 for "plots". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering pilote vs plots

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 “pilote” 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