Which to use
“plug” is a noun and “pu” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,647
- “plug” frequency rank
- #307
- “pu” frequency rank
- 23954
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | plug | pu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prise électrique ; fiche. | Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe pouvoir. |
Where the eye mixes plug and pu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between plug and pu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: plug is \plœɡ\ while pu is \py\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
plug is recorded at frequency rank #23,647, classified as anoun, pronounced \plœɡ\. pu is at rank #307, tagged as averb, pronounced \py\.
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 23954, this pair ranks #349,505 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of plug vs pu
Shared letters: pu. Private to "plug": gl. Private to "pu": -.
"plug" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "pu" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- plug ← lpug · plgu · pllug · plugg · pplug · pulg
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "plug" for "pu" ever safe?
Frequency check: "plug" vs "pu" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "plug" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #349,505 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "plug" and "pu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "plug vs Pluto". 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 #349,505 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.