Which to use
“pli” and “publi” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,108
- “pli” frequency rank
- #32,538
- “publi” frequency rank
- 51646
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pli | publi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Double qu’on fait à une étoffe, à du linge, à du papier, etc., en rabattant une partie contre une autre. | Publication (scientifique). |
Where the eye mixes pli and publi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pli runs 3 letters (CCV) against publi's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pli with publi
A purely visual mix-up. pli (\pli\) and publi (\py.bli\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51646, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pli is recorded at frequency rank #19,108, classified as anoun, pronounced \pli\. publi is at rank #32,538, tagged as anoun, pronounced \py.bli\.
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 51646, this pair ranks #153,479 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pli vs publi
Shared letters: ilp. Private to "pli": -. Private to "publi": bu.
"pli" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "publi" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- publi ← pbuli · ppubli · pubbli · pubil · publli · pulbi · upbli
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pli" for "publi" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pli" or "publi"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pli" and "publi" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pli" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "publi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #153,479 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pli" and "publi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "publ vs publi". 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 #153,479 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.