Which to use
“plombs” and “ploucs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,719
- “plombs” frequency rank
- #41,961
- “ploucs” frequency rank
- 57680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plombs | ploucs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de plomb. | Pluriel de plouc. |
Where the eye mixes plombs and ploucs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. plombs (CCVCCC) and ploucs (CCVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses plombs with ploucs
A purely visual mix-up. plombs (\plɔ̃\) and ploucs (\pluk\) 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 57680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plombs is recorded at frequency rank #15,719, classified as anoun, pronounced \plɔ̃\. ploucs is at rank #41,961, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pluk\.
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 57680, this pair ranks #113,570 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of plombs vs ploucs
Shared letters: lops. Private to "plombs": bm. Private to "ploucs": cu.
"plombs" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "ploucs" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "plombs" for "ploucs" ever safe?
Frequency check: "plombs" vs "ploucs" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "plombs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ploucs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #113,570 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plombs" and "ploucs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plouc vs ploucs". 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 #113,570 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.