plisvspubisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,211
“plis” frequency rank
#45,256
“pubis” frequency rank
61467
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature plis pubis
Definition Pluriel de pli. Os situé à la partie antérieure et supérieure du bassin, l'un des trois os pelviens (soudés pour former l’os coxal).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set plis and pubis apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
plis
5 ch
pubis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. plis (\pli\) and pubis (\py.bis\) 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 61467, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

plis is recorded at frequency rank #16,211, classified as anoun, pronounced \pli\. pubis is at rank #45,256, tagged as anoun, pronounced \py.bis\.

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 61467, this pair ranks #92,121 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of plis vs pubis

Shared letters: ips. Private to "plis": l. Private to "pubis": bu.

"plis" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "pubis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • plislpis · pils · pliss · pllis · plsi · pplis
  • pubispbuis · ppubis · pubbis · pubiss · pubsi · puibs · upbis

Frequency comparison

plis#16,211
pubis#45,256

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "plis" and "pubis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pli\ versus \py.bis\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "plis" or "pubis"?
"plis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,211 in our French list, against #45,256 for "pubis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering plis vs pubis

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 “plis” 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