Which to use
“plaindre” and “poindre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,267
- “plaindre” frequency rank
- #41,458
- “poindre” frequency rank
- 45725
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plaindre | poindre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prendre en pitié les maux d’autrui, en être touché, témoigner la compassion que l’on éprouve pour quelqu’un. | Piquer quelqu'un ou quelque chose. |
Where the eye mixes plaindre and poindre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. plaindre runs 8 letters (CCVVCCCV) against poindre's 7 (CVVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: plaindre vs poindre
A purely visual mix-up. plaindre (\plɛ̃dʁ\) and poindre (\pwɛ̃dʁ\) 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 45725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plaindre is recorded at frequency rank #4,267, classified as averb, pronounced \plɛ̃dʁ\. poindre is at rank #41,458, tagged as averb, pronounced \pwɛ̃dʁ\.
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 45725, this pair ranks #200,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of plaindre vs poindre
Shared letters: deinpr. Private to "plaindre": al. Private to "poindre": o.
"plaindre" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCCV · "poindre" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "plaindre" for "poindre" ever safe?
Frequency check: "plaindre" vs "poindre" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "plaindre" and "poindre" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "plaindre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "poindre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #200,508 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plaindre" and "poindre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poindre vs pondéré". 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 #200,508 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.