Which to use
“poi” and “poix” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,426
- “poi” frequency rank
- #38,482
- “poix” frequency rank
- 78908
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poi | poix |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plat polynésien de consistance pâteuse à semi-fluide, mélange de plusieurs fruits ou légumes. | Matière résineuse gluante et noire qui s’obtient par la distillation des bois résineux de pins ou de sapins. |
Where the eye mixes poi and poix
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. poi runs 3 letters (CVV) against poix's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: poi vs poix
A purely visual mix-up. poi (\pɔj\) and poix (\pwa\) 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 extra letter(s) - “poi” sits inside “poix”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poi is recorded at frequency rank #40,426, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɔj\. poix is at rank #38,482, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pwa\.
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 78908, this pair ranks #24,560 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of poi vs poix
Shared letters: iop. Private to "poi": -. Private to "poix": x.
"poi" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "poix" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- poix ← opix · piox · poixx · poxi · ppoix
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "poi" for "poix" ever safe?
Frequency check: "poi" vs "poix" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "poi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "poix" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,560 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poi" and "poix" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pio vs poi". 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 #24,560 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.